White Knight
by Rafaelout
Summary: A wish, any wish of your choice from every single realm of possibility what would you do with it? Well I had that choice and I have made my choice on what to do with it. A brand new life filled with uncertainty and the wonders of possibility, a single choice with careful wording is what it took to begin the life in which I had chosen to be reborn into. This is my story… SI OC
1. Chapter 1

**I have no claim whatsoever to any part of Marvel Studio's and the Avengers Franchise...**

* * *

If you had a wish, any wish of your choice from every single realm of possibility what would you do with it? Well I had that choice and I have made my choice on what to do with it. A brand new life filled with uncertainty and the wonders of possibility, a single choice with careful wording is what it took to begin the life in which I had chosen to be reborn into. This is my story…

* * *

Flashback

 _A young red-haired girl was cursing as she ran from her pursuers. The assassination of the Afghan Warlord had gone as planned but her escape route had been compromised, the same could be said for her second and third contingency plans as well. It was as if someone had found out all of her plans and let kill her target but removed any and all avenues of escape. Coming to think of it, that was probably what had happened._

 _"Hey" whispered a voice and immediately she turned around and pointed both of her guns at the person who spoke. Said person, who did didn't even look fearful despite being at gunpoint continued to speak without missing a beat "If you want to get out of here alive, follow me."_

 _He then quickly dashed into an alleyway and the girl considered her choices, either she keep running from her pursuers until she gets caught and killed or follow this stranger who might lead her to sanctuary or an ambush. Neither choice was great, though for some reason all of her senses were screaming that she could trust this boy and so she did and followed him straight into the alley, the boy quickly opened a door and gestured for her to go in and without a moment's hesitation. Then he starts yelling in the native language and usually at this point she would think that she was betrayed and would get the hell out of there, but all of her senses were screaming for her to keep calm and stay put and against her better judgment she did. She watched as her pursuers run right up to the boy who started speaking to them and knowing the native language she started to translate._

 _"Please you have got to help me" screamed the boy "My belongings were stolen by that red-haired girl"_

 _"Where did she go" the leader of the men asked roughly as he only knew of one red-haired girl in this region and she was the one they were chasing._

 _"That way" said the boy pointing at a narrow alleyway and the man shouted for his men to follow him as he ran in that direction. The boy waited until a minute had passed after they were all gone and then went back inside and said in English "Hey there, are you all right?"_

 _The girl blinked unlike when he was speaking to those men his voice almost sounded like…_

 _"You're American?"_

 _"I like to think so" said the boy as he moved his hand to the back of his head and removed the hood on his head and the cloth from his face and said "I mean I kind of look American and I naturally kind of sound American so I like to think that I am an American."_

 _The girl now got a chance to take a good look at the person who had saved her. He looked around ten to twelve years old and was wearing an extremely dusty t-shirt, long dusty browned pants, black gloves and sandals. The boy who was now smiling offered her, his hand and said "I'm Rafael."_

 _The girl was thinking that this boy could someday be an asset to her, a very good asset if she played her cards right and besides she owed him. So, with these thoughts in mind she took is hand and shook it saying "I'm Natasha."_

Flashback end

* * *

I smiled; it had been 6 years since then. I had seen Natasha several times (at least twice every 6 months) in the years that had followed our meeting and I liked to think that we had become fast friends. As for who I was, well I am and was even back then Dr. Yinsen Ho's adoptive son and truthfully my life in this world could not be better, though I know of many people who could see my life and argue with that statement.

My adoptive family and I lead a simple life and the considerable amount of money that my adoptive father earns is used to improve the life in our small village of Gulmira, something that has been improving in leaps and bounds since Natasha assassinated the Afghan Warlord that was terrorizing it. Of course he made sure to keep enough of enough of it in order to get us everything we needed (notice how I said needed, not wanted.)

I remember when I had watched Iron-Man in what seemed like a lifetime ago and remembered when he had said that Tony Stark was a man that had everything and yet nothing. My adoptive father however could be described as a man on the opposite side of the spectrum, a man who had nothing, yet everything. My adoptive family was simple in its ways and it reminded of my true family, in my original life. The strong yet caring presence of my father and the loving touch of my mother, I never considered how much I would miss them when I had entered this world, but it would not have mattered anyway, they had long full lives ahead of them, where as I…

"It's better not to go down that path, it will only lead to madness" I said to myself out loud as I listened to my surroundings. It had gone quiet, too quiet.

I ducked my head and rolled off the chair I was sitting on to avoid the round house kick was aimed where my head was barely a few moments ago. Not wasting a single moment of time my assailant quickly closed the gap between us and let loose a deathly combination of kicks and punches, I dodged and blocked as I danced around the oncoming assault quickly analyzing what I knew of my assailant as Natasha had thought me to do all those years ago.

Her basic figure was enough for me to identify that she was female and the type of assault that she was using signified that she was probably a master at mixed martial arts (something that was extremely clear as I was to busy blocking and dodging to even begin a counterattack) and most of them deathly, I could also see that she was moving to disable, not kill and that she was holding back. That alone clued me onto her identity.

Still I was getting tired and knew that I had to end this soon. I could see that unlike me, she was showing absolutely no signs of fatigue. Reaching into my pocket I grabbed a gift that an old friend had given me (And something that was constantly present with me as I never knew when I would need it) and waited of another opening. When it came I quickly launched a back kick while at the same time I threw the gift at my assailant's feet. However instead of blocking like I had expected her to she instead used my kick to launch herself back and away from the harmful electric effects of the gift, which I suspected that she herself had given me.

Sure enough my suspicions were confirmed when she pulled off the hood she had been wearing and the cloth from her face, her curly red hair fell out and she looked at me with a critical eye and said "You have improved I see."

"Considering that you are the one who trained me, did you really that I would allow myself to go rusty Natasha?" I asked as I took some time to take in her features. She was wearing black jeans and a black leather jacket whose hood was now pulled back to expose her beautiful curly red hair. She was wearing a small smile though I could see that her eyes contained sadness, something that I was expecting as a news report had just shown that Tony Stark had been found and was currently on his way back home.

"I trust that you know that Mr. Stark has been found" she said and I nodded "What you don't know is that…"

"How many are dead?" I asked interrupting her and seeing her surprised look I said "From what I was able to gather from the news Mr. Stark's convoy was attacked on his way back from a successful meeting with the Armed forces stationed there. But the question remains how did they know as considering whom the convoy was guarding the security would have been prepared for all eventualities and route would have been extremely secure. Furthermore the amount of people that would have been aware of all the specifics would be higher up's in either the army and in Stark Enterprises. In order for the attack to be successful one of those people would have had to have given the info to the Ten Rings. Something which doesn't make sense to me as why on earth would those people want to help that organization capture Stark. Then I realized my mistake, they didn't want to capture him, they wanted him dead and it was the organization itself that decided they wanted the man alive, which meant that they would have to alter their plans as from what I gather the plan was to wipe the convoy out wholesale…"

"And it would have been optimistic to the point of foolishness to think that Mr. Stark would escape without any injury." said Natasha, her face betraying nothing thought considering how long I had known her and how close I liked to think that we had become, I could make out that she was feeling surprised, as well as a bit impressed with that insight.

"And even if he did, two engineers would have been better than one, and my father can lay clam to being one of the best engineers as well as one of the best doctors to have come out of Afghanistan. Not to mention the fact that he has worked for Stark Enterprises in the past and has even met Mr. Stark at a conference in 1999" I continued, wincing at the last part. I had been there with him at the conference and I could honestly say that Tony made Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter look absolutely humble. "I suspect that he is dead, along with mom and sis and the fact that I have not been able to get in touch with them for the last month, and your presence here just solidifies that fact. I want to know how many others died in that needless fight."

"Everyone" she says softly, slowly closing that gap between us "The entire village was razed to the ground."

I could honestly say that I had been expecting that answer as the movie portrayed that they had an 'either you are with us or against us' attitude, but still, I had hoped, deep down in my heart that I had been wrong. I slammed my fist into the wall putting all my anger and anguish into that punch, my had hurt a lot but I didn't care. Natasha simply stood there as she waited to compose myself and truth be told I was glad that she was there, because I knew that regardless of whether it was the best part of my life or my worst, if she had the chance and the time to stand by my side she would.

"Natasha" I said after a few moments "Is there anything else that you would want to tell me."

"Indeed, Mr. Stark would like to meet with you. There is a car waiting down to take you to the airport to meet him. I have already arranged things with the collage so that you will not be missed."

I just nodded my head in acknowledgement.

* * *

The car ride was calm. Natasha sat beside me as the car drove through traffic, no words were exchanged because no words were really needed, just a small smile and her reassuring squeeze of my hand which she held in her hand. When we finally reached the airport we went straight through security and onto a runway. Natasha handed me a folder and said "In here are most of your documents. Your schooling records and certificates, prize certificates, passport, adoption certificate and birth certificate, as well as a blood test that confirms that the people listed on the certificate are actually your parents. I suggest that you show Mr. Stark this folder and I promise you that I will see you again Rafael, soon."

I nodded at her and took the file from her. Then I hugged her before finally getting out and watching as the vehicle drove away before turning around and walking up the stairs and into the jet skimming through the file as I did, when I reached my birth certificate and the blood test I nearly stopped cold. The information was shocking to say the very least and yet at the same time it had explained so much. You see, throughout my school life in this life I had excelled in my academics, especially math's and science, and I had always thought that it was due to the simple fact that I had done all of this in my previous life. Something which was a flimsy excuse at the best considering that the things that I had studied in my 10th grade were taught in the 7th grade in the world and not to mention the fact that while my interest and talents lay in medicine in my first life they bordered in computer science and engineering in this one. It was something which I had always wondered about before shaking my head and pushing it to the back of my mind, now though the answer lay in front of me and it turns out that it was the simple result of my genes shining through. I guess it is true what they say, fate really is a…

"Something on your mind" said a strong and firm voice, interrupting my thought process and I looked up and saw that Tony Stark, THE Tony Stark, was standing right in front of me, though at this point I really didn't care as I shoved the folder and said "Read it!"

The man who would soon become known world wide as Iron-Man looked slightly shocked and stunned at the way in which I had addressed him, probably had never been addressed like that ever! Never the less he did not argue as he opened the folder and started to read while I used the training that Natasha had given me over the years to try and re-take control of my emotions as I tried to process what I had just read. It seems that my adoptive father had gotten a little curious as to whom my biological father was sometime ago and used my blood to find out who that man was… The result was unexpected to say the least because I would have never guessed that this man could ever have been my father in this world and there was no doubt why my mother had made sure that he was never aware. Because…

"There must be some mistake" said Tony "This… this cannot be possible."

I looked up and met his eye (as I knew that Natasha would have never given me any information of this magnitude before making sure that it was the true beyond all doubt) and said "I am afraid that there is absolutely no mistake in that file… father."

* * *

In a swimming pool of a S.H.I.E.L.D base in an undisclosed location a certain red haired agent wondered how a good friend of hers was dealing with the latest curve-ball that life had thrown him. Finding out that your biological father was Tony Stark was not going to be easy especially after you had found out that your family and the village where in you grew up in had be obliterated. Still if she knew anything, it was that her friend was certainly capable of bouncing back from anything, including this.

Natasha smiled. When she had first met Rafael she had decided to train him, and to make him an asset, and after seeing his academic capabilities she thought that he would become an extremely good asset. But, over the years unlike so many others, he had become much more than just an asset, he had become her one of her closest friends.

They had actually talked about him joining S.H.I.E.L.D after his graduation, and after his preliminary training she would try to get herself assigned as his S.O or C.O, though in hindsight she doubted that he wouldn't even need to go to the academy in the first place considering his academic genus and the training she had put him through he could easily pass as an all round level 2 S.H.I.E.L.D agent, and would most likely being assigned as a level 3 combat specialist. And if he still wanted in, she could probably convince Fury to assign him to either her or Coulson, just as Barton had done for her. For now, all she could do was observe as events played out…

* * *

The plane ride had gone smoothly, though the atmosphere inside the plane… well lets just say that describing it as tense would be the understatement of the century. We both looked at each other, my father with shock and confusion and me with anger, though I wasn't exactly sure who at, him for abandoning my mother (though I sincerely doubt that he knew that she was pregnant) or fate for serving up this bit of drama but I knew I was angry. Finally I just felt that enough was enough…

"Ok, I am getting tired whole tense thing, of this so lets try again" I said trying to get rid of this awkward atmosphere. "My name is Rafael Ho, adopted son of Dr. Yinsen Ho and biological son of Antony Stark, who gave me up in order to keep me safe from people who would try to use me to get to him. I was born in 1990 and I am 20 years old and have just finished my bachelor's degree in Computer Science."

"You also apparently skipped two grades and were one of the top most students in your class" Tony added with a bit of a smirk "And you proficient in Win Chung and Krav Maga."

"I guess I am" Harry replied, "Now why don't you tell me about yourself? The real Tony Stark, and not the one the press portrays…"

And that was the start of the first actual father son he have ever had.

* * *

Rafael watched from the airplanes window as the USAF C-17 lands at Edward's Air Force Base in California. On the tarmac a pretty blonde haired women and a large man who he immediately recognizes as Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan waits by his fathers Rolls Royce. The plane taxis and stops, the rear doors open and Tony stands up from a wheelchair. Rafael sighs and guides him off the plane while Tony indicating the waiting ambulance says "Are you kidding me with this? Get rid of them."

"Please, I am sure that the hospital has a place with your name on it" Rafael says with a slight smile tugging at his lips.

"Yeah… on a plaque" Tony replies as he walks down the ramp to Pepper and says "Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss?"

"Tears of joy, I hate job hunting." She replies.

"Among other things" Rafael says with a small smirk emerging on his face, Pepper who instantly recognized what he was saying turned to look at him but, his father in attempt to save Rafael from Pepper wrath quickly says "Yeah, vacation's over Pepper, lets get in the car."

Pepper actually looks at her boss, this is probably the first time ever that he has prevented someone from facing her ire, usually he is glad to see it pointed at someone else. She looks at the young man closely; tall and lean, he had handsome features that seemed somehow, familiar to her, with a build that seemed more for agility and speed than strength, dressed in a blood red t-shirt and black formal pants with black formal boots. She didn't get the chance to ask his name as Tony had quickly made his way to the car with the stranger right beside him. When they got into the back of the Rolls Royce her boss sat in the middle, separating the stranger from her as if sensing some lingering tension and putting himself in the way of it. That was another thing she added to the list of strange things. Tony sat in the middle, in the MIDDLE. The guy loves to sit beside the windows, he ALWAYS sits beside the windows. The only times that he didn't were when he was in a military vehicle and said military force (whether it was the Air Force, Army, Navy, etc…) demanded it for safety.

Completely oblivious to her internal debate, Happy asks "Where to, Sir?"

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy." Pepper immediately replies pushing her current thoughts out of her mind and focusing on the matter at hand

"No!" her boss immediately says.

"No?" Pepper says surprised "Tony, you have to go to the hospital!"

"No is a complete answer."

"The doctor has to look at you."

"I don't have to do anything. I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger, and the other..."

"That's enough of that."

"...is not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference now."

" Call for a press conference?" Pepper asked, confusion clearly apparent in her voice

"Yes" Rafael immediately said "Like he said, Antony Stark has been in captivity for three months, there are things that need to be addressed before anything else. "Am I right?"

"Of course you are" Tony says "Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first."

"I'm sorry, and you are?" Pepper asks as she had completely forgotten about the man. Which to be honest was kind of surprising as they were sitting in the same car.

"I am sorry, I seem to have forgotten my manners" he said as the car starts moving "My name is Rafael and I was raised in the town of Gulmira by Mr. Yinsen Ho, after my mother died giving birth to me."

"I am sorry to hear that" said Pepper. She knew that Yinsen Ho was the name of the man who had been held in captivity with Tony and had died there. That actually kind of explained the presence of Rafael in the car. Tony probably felt bad after failing to protect his guardian and was trying to make it up to him.

"Thank you" Rafael replied "He was a good man and could have given a lot to the world. Still I think I have made my peace with his death and now look forward to living with my birth father."

"And who's that?" Happy curiously asks from the front seat

At this Tony smirks and says "Me."

* * *

A sleek silver Sedan pulls up in front of the exterior of Stark Industries' factory, where Obadiah Stane and a crowd of people are waiting to welcome Tony home. The passenger door opens and out comes Happy who first goes and opens the driver's side door allowing Rafael to get out. Said teen immediately tossed him the keys saying "Try not to crash it this time."

Happy flushed. The moment he had heard who Rafael's father was he had immediately lost control of the car and crashed into the nearest thing, which happened to be an F-44 fighter jet. The man in charge of the base along with several dozen personal immediately rushed onto the scene. Rafael, using several years of training and experience managed to slip away unnoticed and quickly moved to a place where he had seen a very familiar face, a Level 8 S.H.I.E.L.D agent by the name of Clint Barton. After a quick chat with the promise of a favor in the near future, he managed to find out that S.H.I.E.L.D had taken an interest into Mr. Stark's return and safety… at least for the moment. It also made him question why they had provided him with the information about who his father was. They knew that both the Black Widow and Hawkeye had been training him; they also knew what level he was on. Was it possible that Natasha had given him the information, not as a friend, but as an attempt to personally increase the security around Tony? Thinking about that and what he knew about S.H.I.E.L.D in general. He concluded that it was not just possible, but highly probable that it was exactly what had happened.

After a bit of heated bargaining with the man who had trained him, he managed to convince Barton to give him his Sedan and just at the exact moment Tony had gotten things cleared up with the officials he drove up right beside them and said "Hey you guys look like you need a ride…"

Tony and Pepper had snorted and into the car while Happy made his way to the driver's seat where Rafael refused to move stating quite clearly that he had borrowed this car from a friend and he was NOT going to risk breaking it as he had no money to get it repaired. When Happy said he was perfectly qualified driver Rafael quickly retorted that a perfectly qualified driver does NOT crash his car barely two minutes after starting it. Happy flushed and Tony stated that if his son wanted to drive that he could. The emphasis the man put on the word 'son' had made the decision final. He was, after all their boss.

Anyway, coming back to the present Obadiah cam rushing to the car and hugged Tony saying "Look at this! Tony. We were going to meet at the hospital."

"No, I'm fine."

"Look at you! You had to have a burger, yeah? Well, come on. You get me one of those?"

"There's only one left. I need it."

"Actually there are three left, one of which is for me obviously" said Rafael "Since your gonna have the other and neither Happy nor Piper want the third he can have it"

Obadiah quickly turned around and glared at him and looked ready to put him Rafael in his place, well the place that he thought the boy deserved to be, but Tony silenced him with a wave. Obadiah looked at Tony curiously before he turned to the crowd at large and pointing to Tony said "Hey, look who's here!"

* * *

It wasn't long before they were inside of the building and in a room full of reporters. Pepper is standing at the back of the room when she's approached by a man in a suit.

"Miss Potts?" he says

"Yes."

"Can I speak to you for a moment?"

"I'm not part of the press conference, but it's about to begin right now."

"And he's not a reporter." said Rafael emerging from out of no where "He's Agent Phil Coulson, with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"That's quite a mouthful." Pepper stated

"I know. We're working on it." Coulson said

"You know, we've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA..."

"We're a separate division with a more specific focus." He replied "We need to debrief Mr Stark about the circumstances of his escape."

"And they must really be interested in the circumstances of his escape if you're here" Rafael said, his voice was soft enough that I could be heard between the three of them, but no one else "Unofficially you're considered the Commander's second in command and possible replacement when the man decides to retire… Tell me, what the W.S.C want with my father"

"I am not at liberty to discuss that" the man said.

"Of course not" Rafael snorted. "And I presume that me finding out about the identity of my father just moments before we met, after we had both encountered a tragic loss was just luck?"

"No, it was your friend helping you finally find out something that both you and your guardian have been searching for… for a good long while too I might add" Coulson replied "Needless to say she has been put on probation for it."

"Then I'll tell you what; send someone to investigate who exactly hired the Ten Rings to kidnap my father and I will personally guarantee you that you will get your meeting with Mr. Stark before the end of the next month. And if I can manage it, an up and personal encounter with Mr. Stane that you will most likely not forget anytime soon." he replied "In fact why don't you send Natalie, she's been itching to get back into Afghanistan."

"I'll take that under consideration" Coulson replied. He knew that the young man in front of him had just given them a reasonable cover in case they ever needed to assign an agent to Mr. Stark, and by the looks of his son, he knew it to. At that point Rafael leaned in close and whispered into the agent's ear "I suggest you keep a watch on the skies, it will help Fury and you fill in a lot of gaps."

Rafael then leaned back and offered his hand out and said "Agent Coulson."

"Mr. Stark" he replied as shook the man's hand before they both walked away. About a couple of minutes later, at the front of the press conference Tony walked up to the base of the podium, looked at everyone before he flopped down at the base of the podium and said "Hey, would it be all right if everyone sat down? Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can... A little less formal and..."

Rafael, who was standing a bit to the side smirked at the absolutely befuddled identical expressions on the faces of almost everyone as they hesitantly and slowly complied with Tony's request. He looked at the spot where he knew Piper was standing and was surprised to see Captain James Rhodes there. He smirked as he lip red what the man had just said

"What's up with the love-in?" Rhodey had asked

"Don't look at me." Pepper replied "I don't know what he's up to."

Of course it was at that point that Tony started to speak again so Rafael turned his attention back on the man he now called his father as he spoke.

"I never got to say goodbye to my father." Tony said "and had I the opportunity, there are questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted? if he ever had doubts? Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels... I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them, by the very things I had made with the sole purpose to protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

"Mr Stark!"

"Hey, Ben." Said Tony calmly, he was after all old friends with that reporter.

"What happened over there?"

"I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately; I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be. What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well."

At his point Rafael smoothly walked forward, and Tony realizing he was going to address the crowd stepped or rather slid (as he was sitting on the ground) smoothly out of the way, before getting back to his feet as he watched his new found son step onto the podium and say "What Mr. Stark isn't telling you is that regardless of his personal preferences the weapons manufacturing division would have been temporarily shut down anyway."

The press started to shout some questions but Rafael simply held up his hand to silence them before he said "If you would all bear with me for a moment you will get most of your answers soon. While it is true that Stark industries in the chief weapons supplier to the United States of America, we are not the only supplier. When Mr. Stark was captured he noticed that with the exception of several guns the terrorist seemed to be in possession of Stark Weapons alone, which would not have been the case if they were raiding army supplies. Someone in this company has been supplying our weapons to the enemy and as per the protocol that has been laid down by Howard Stark, a protocol that we have had no need to use till now mind you, the weapons manufacturing division will be shut down until such time that the leak has been found and dealt with. Of course whether it will open up again is a matter entirely up to Mr. Stark himself, though by that time I am sure he will have decided what direction he wants the company to move in. Any questions?"

"Yes, I have one" said the reporter which he recognized from watching the news, Christina Evenheart "Well, truthfully to me it looks like your early twenties, or probably not even IN you twenties, and since you don't seem to be a member of Stark Industries PR department, I must ask. Who are you?"

Rafael was about to answer when he felt a hand on his shoulder and felt his father lean close to his ear and whisper "I've got this."

Though puzzled about what his father would say, he graciously stepped back and allowed Tony to address the crowd once more "Before I answer that Ms. Evenheart, I would like you all to look back on my early history. You see from the moment I was born I have been targeted, either to be kidnapped and used as ransom or to be killed in order to get back at my father. Obviously those attempts failed due to the simple reason that I would not be here otherwise. When I was at school a lot of people tried to befriend me because of who my parents were and the power I would wield when I got older, not because of who I was. Then there was the attention, the constant attention, the perpetual praise, yadda yadda yadda. It wasn't long before I grew arrogant and bigheaded. Many people would still call me that and most of the time I would agreed with them. Are you with me so far?"

There were nods all around, as well as wide spread confusion on most of the faces, while some had managed to figure it out and were now staring at the young man beside Antony Stark in complete astonishment as he continued to speak

"Now I'm sure that my father didn't have to deal with that, and I doubt that he knew anyone who had, so I don't really blame him for the mistakes he made in raising me. And though my childhood may have sounded like a picnic to any ordinary man, trust me when I say that it was not. There was no way I was going to let anyone go through a childhood like that, especially not my own son." Tony said putting emphasis on those last three words causing almost everyone who hadn't figured it out to gas in shock. Tony waited a moment with a genuine smile on his face before he put his arm around Rafael dragging him closer and said "And Christina darling, I have got to say that you are right, he's just started his twenties. Everyone this is my dear twenty year old son, Rafael Ho Stark. Who has been living in anonymity under a different name up until now... This is the man who will be the future of this company. This young man… well, he is my Legacy."

And with that both men smartly walked off the podium and out of the room through a side door while the reporters all stared at the two in undisguised shock.

* * *

About a dozen minutes later a sleek silver Segway pulled up in the parking lot in another section of the factory. The Driver's side door opened and Obadiah stepped out of the car and hands the keys to Happy Hogan, who was currently leaning on the car that Rafael borrowed from Agent Barton, and asked "Where are they?"

"Inside." Came Happy's simple reply.

Obadiah gives the man a curt nod in acknowledgement before he walks up the stairs and enters the building and finds Tony and his son standing together in comfortable silence watching a full sized arc reactor that powers the factory.

"Well, that..." said Obadiah as he walked up to them "That went well."

"You know when I had planned out what I wanted to say to the press I had imagined that you would say those exact words, but sarcastically and not truthfully" Tony replied "I had actually thought that I would have painted a target on my head by the end of today and I am sure that Pepper had already began making plans to deal with it all."

"Yeah well, she is pretty dedicated to you, Happy too." Rafael said "But the best way to run damage control is to stop it from happening in the first place."

"Yeah, laying the bomb of your parentage, making it seem as if shutting own the weapons division is not just the logical choice, but the only choice and giving enough hints that the media just might paint us as the good guys" Tony replied "When I brought you back into my life I didn't think that you would have so much of an impact all at once… How did you even know about that Protocol, even I didn't know about it."

"Research. One way or another I was always going to end up back in Stark industries, and I thought it would be better to know about the company before that day." Rafael said "By the way, what do you think the over-under on the stock drop was gonna be if we had walked out when you had said that you had shut the Weapons manufacturing division down?"

"Optimistically, 40 points." Tony replied

"At minimum" added Obadiah, speaking for the first time since he had interrupted their silence. "But getting back to that, Tony what were you thinking when you said that. We're a weapons manufacturer!"

"Obie, I just don't want a body count to be our only legacy."

"That's what we do. We're iron mongers. We make weapons."

"It's my name on the side of the building."

"And what we do keep's the world from falling into chaos."

"Not based on what I saw. We're not doing a good enough job. We can do better. We're gonna do something else."

"Like what? You want us to make baby bottles?"

"I think we should take another look into arc reactor technology."

"Come on… The arc reactor, that's a publicity stunt! Tony, come on. We built that thing to shut the hippies up!"

"Hey, it's works." Rafael added before both men glared at him and he got their message loud and clear, 'stay out of this conversation'

"Yeah, as a science project" Obadiah grudgingly agreed "The arc was never cost effective. We knew that before we built it. Arc reactor technology, that's a dead end, Am I right? I mean… We haven't had a breakthrough in that in what? Thirty years."

"That's what they say." Said Tony looking straight at the old mans face for a moment before he cheekily grinned and said "Could you have a lousier poker face? Just tell me, who told you? Is it Rhodey or Pepper, cause there is no way my son had either the opportunity or time to tell you.

"Well actually –" said son started to say before both men glared at him again causing the eighteen year old to raise his hands and take a few steps back in mock surrender.

"Never mind who told me. Show me" said Obadiah as he pointed to the center of Tony's chest "I want to see it."

"Okay, Rhodey" said Tony as he unbuttoned his shirt to show him the miniature arc reactor. Obadiah leans forward and briefly studies the reactor before straitening up and then buttoning Tony's shirt back up. The two men looked at one another and Obadiah says just one word "Okay."

Tony looks at the man like he has never seen him before, shock written all over his face at Obadiah's discarding the thing that is keeping him alive, like a chocolate wrapper. However before he could say a thing Rafael's phone suddenly starts ringing, playing Greenday's 'American Idiot' so loud that probably even Happy could hear it outside.

"Excuse me" He said, "But I have to take this."

Obadiah watched the eighteen year old turn around and walk away before he started to say "Listen to me, Tony. We're a team. Do you understand? There's nothing we can't do if we stick together, like your father and I…."

But Rafael didn't get to hear the rest of the conversation as the minute he answered the call he started to get chewed out by a very angry female "What on earth were you thinking Rafael? When I gave you that file and dropped you to that jet I expected things would be kept covert, at least until you two spent more time getting to know each other. Not something so overt. Has everything I thought you just flown out the window?"

"Natasha…?" he asked surprised because she had just almost as much emotion in this conversation as all the other times he had seen her show emotion combined. He heard the sound of her taking a breath and when she spoke again she sounded like her regular self "It's me Rafael… and I'm worried about you."

That if nothing else surprised him, Natasha Romanoff admitting that she actually cared for him. He knew that the feelings between them were there, and perhaps they were the stepping stones towards more despite their rather large age difference, but he'd never thought that she would be the first one to admit it, ever. "Hey there, first of all that whole revealing thing, that was purely my father. You of all people should know I would never do something as overt as that, considering that you were the first one to train me… and besides I fine Tasha"

That was another thing that signified their closeness. To everyone else she was the elusive Black Widow, Agent Romanoff, or to those that were really close to her, 'Nat'. Rafael was the only person she allowed to call her 'Tasha' and she herself had made sure that all her aliases, bar two which she used only when there was a good chance that they would continuously meet for extended periods of time, all had names that would prevent anyone from giving her that particular nickname.

"I know… its just that there will be a lot of people coming after you now" she said "Terrorist, Politicians Journalist and even Cops. Not to mention the amount of fame you have accumulated with that single press conference alone."

Her breathing abruptly switched and he instantly knew that she was listening to something before she suddenly said "I've gotta go… just promise me that you will be careful."

"I promise" he said and barely a moment later he heard the phone go dead.

"Rafael" Tony shouted and he looked over to see his new father looking at him and signaling him to come closer. "Its time to go, come on… I want you to see your new home."

* * *

 **I have already published this story on Inkett using an account I made there... thought I'll be continuing it here from now...  
Anyway I hope all you readers liked the first chapter of White Knight...  
Please don't forget to review...**

 **Rafaelout out...**


	2. Chapter 2

**I have absolutely no claim whatsoever to any part of Marvel Studio's and/or the Avengers Franchise...**

* * *

A day later Pepper Potts was sitting in the living room of Stark's Malibu home watching the news. Stark Industries had been the subject of many news bulletins, talk shows etc, and truthfully opinions were varied about the company. There were some that were in utter agreement with Stark's current Policy; that it was best to plug the leak before continuing with Business, and yet others were insisting that the Industry was crashing down like the Titanic. Soon enough Pepper's phone rang and she put the TV on silent as she answered the call from… Tony of all people.

"Pepper" he said "How big are your hands?"

"What?"

"How big are your hands?"

"I don't understand why..."

"Get down here. I need you."

She turns off the TV and immediately heads down to Tony's workshop at the house. Pepper enters her code into the security pad and enters to find Tony sitting shirtless in a chair that looked remarkably like the ones Doctors used to check on their patients. Leaning on the closest was his new found son Rafael who was slowly twirling a new Arc Reactor in his hand, examining it like it was a new found diamond.

"Hey" said Tony as he saw her enter "Let's see them. Show me your hands. Let's see them. Oh, wow. They are small. Very petite, indeed. I just need your help for a sec."

The CEO of Stark Industries removes the Arc Reactor that was inside his chest causing his blonde haired assistant to look at it and ask in surprise "Oh, my God, is that the thing that's keeping you alive?"

"It was. It's is now an antique" he said before pointing at the reactor in Rafael's hand and said "That is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future. I was swapping –"

"I?" asked Rafael with a bit of an edge in his voice

"We, we were swapping this up for an upgraded unit, and we just ran into a little speed bump"

"Speed bump" asked Pepper "what – What exactly does that mean?"

"It's' nothing. It's' just a little snag" Tony replied as he slowly pulls the old reactor out of his chest and hands it to Pepper "There's an exposed wire under this device. And it's contacting the socket wall and causing a little bit of a short. It's…"

"Its certainly not fine" Rafael said with the same edge he had a bit more "You are about to entrust your life to a person who has absolutely no medical experience, not even first aid training. And unfortunately I cannot fault you for doing so as she is the only person you can trust to handle the tech required. Just… try not to die ok, I already lost one dad, I really don't want to loose another."

"Wait are –" Pepper started to say before she caught the glare Rafael shot her before she asked "What do you want me to do?"

"Put that on the table over there" Tony said as he handed her the old reactor "That is irrelevant."

"Oh, my God!" said Pepper as she put the reactor on the desk… and yes you read that correct as she did say that when she placed the reactor on the desk. Rafael turned around, not wanting to watch the inevitable train wreck. Of course turning around didn't do much good as he had to hear his father's assistant's squeals as she tries to save her boss's life and Tony's attempts at 'encouragement'. Honestly every sentence that the man spoke just increased Pepper nervous tenfold. He turned around as he heard his father hiss in pain. His hand's shot out instantly and grabbed Pepper's just before she pulled the wire and the magnet out of Tony chest.

"Pepper Look at me" Rafael said as he watched the blonde shake in a combination of nerves and fright "Look at me!"

Pepper complied and Rafael immediately continued to speak "Listen to me, your doing great, okay"

"Not that Great" said Tony causing his son to look at him and say sharply "Shut up Dad"

"Hey I was just –"

"Shut up!"

Tony brought his hands up on either side as a sign of surrender as Rafael turned his attention back to Pepper who had stopped shaking a bit and now was a small smile of amusement on her face. Rafael looked at her and said "Let go of this and get the new reactor here please."

Pepper did so and Rafael smiled at her before saying "Now I am going to disconnect this unit from his chest. When I do you are going to have to immediately connect the new unit okay"

Pepper nods and Rafael take a deep breath before he disconnects the unit and immediately pulls it out of his father's chest, magnet and all, before he backs away as his if Tony was on fire. Pepper immediately reaches in and attaches the new unit, and all of them breathe a sigh of relief that this is over. Pepper was the first one to recover and she asks "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I feel great. You okay?" he replies, the relief was palpable in his voice and he had a huge smile on his face.

Pepper smiles before she begins to scold him saying "Don't ever, ever, ever, ever ask me to do anything like that ever again."

"I don't have anyone but you." Tony replies

"...and what am I, mince meat?" asked Rafael causing the three of them to laugh.

Pepper then held up the new reactor and asked "What do you want me to do with this?"

"That?" Tony says "Destroy it. Incinerate it."

"You don't want to keep it?"

"Pepper, I've been called many things. ''Nostalgic'' is not one of them."

She nods before she stood up a bit straighter, her voice sounding more business like as she says "Will that be all, Mr Stark?"

"That will be all, Miss Potts." He replied. She then turned around and walked out of the workshop. Once she was gone Rafael turned around and looked at his father who blinked for a moment before silently asking "What on earth was that about?"

"Ah, never seen a working relationship between an employee and her boss?" asked Tony.

"Plenty… But that was far from an everyday relationship, even if you consider all your… oddities" Rafael replied with a smirk.

"Well then… I'd say that you know nothing about me. Not exactly surprising considering that we've only just met."

"Maybe I know more than you think" Rafael said "Miss Potts has feelings for you, that much is clear to anyone close to you guys. And you, despite how much you'd like to deny it, despite how much you fool around with every single skirt you see, feel something for her."

"And how exactly would you know" said Tony his usual care free tone gone "I mean, you only known me for like"

"I know you better than you think" Rafael said as he started to walk away "I mean… like father like son after all!"

"Touché" muttered Tony as he watched his son walk away "JARVIS, you up?"

"For you, sir, always." Came the voice of the AI

"Where is he?"

"I assume you mean your son… He's on the patio talking to Miss Potts."

"Good" said as he leaned sideways, searching for some sign of his son despite JARVIS telling him that Rafael was far away. "I'd like to open a new project file, index as Mark II"

"Shall I store this on the Stark Industries' Central Database?"

"Actually, I don't know who to trust right now. Till further notice, why don't we just keep everything on my private server?" he replied as he put up a 3D image of the Iron Man armor and starts to examine it, removing parts and improving the overall design

"Working on a secret project, are we, sir?" asked the AI

"I don't want this winding up in the wrong hands. Maybe in mine, it can actually do some good" said he took at a closer look at his initial design. Before leaning back as his private inbox showed he'd received one new email. Opening he smirked as he said to himself "Guess he does know me better than I think."

The reason he said this was that the email came from Rafael and it had one simple line _'Dad, please tell me when you start working on the second model of your armor because I would really like to work on something as cool as that.'_

* * *

Rafael walks into the garage to see his father wearing parts of the Iron Man armor while a robot which he apparently built sometime in that last few days, films him. He looked straight at it and said "Day 11, test 37, configuration 2.0. For lack of a better option, Dummy is still on fire safety. And lF you douse me again, and I'm not on fire, I'm donating you to a city college."

"You do know that you're talking to a robot right?" Rafael asked with a grin causing his father to look up with a smile and reply "You do know that JARVIS is a robot right?"

"He's an AI, there's a difference."

"Point noted…" he replied before looking back at the camera and saying "All right, nice and easy. Seriously, just gonna start off with 1% thrust capacity. And three, two, one."

Tony hovers a few feet in the air and then lands again while the robot he so lovingly named Dummy follows closely with the fire extinguisher

"Please don't follow me around with it, either, 'cause I feel like I'm gonna catch on fire spontaneously. Just stand down! lf something happens, then come in. And again, let's bring it up to 2.5. Three, two, one."

Rafael watches as his father starts to hover for a second time and begins to hovers higher this time and starts to drift over his sports cars "Okay, this is where I don't want to be! Not the car, not the car! Yikes! Table!"

At this point Rafael was flat out laughing as his father manages to use his hands to control and steer and land safely back where he started "Could be worse! Could be worse!"

"How" Rafael asked as he managed to catch his breath.

"JARVIS, the system works perfectly, could use a bit of fine tuning but its good enough. Start assembling the Prototype armor" said Tony before he points one finger at his son and said "And you, stop laughing?"

"Why, are you going to donate me to a city collage if I don't?" asked Rafael as he walked over to his father

"No actually I think I wouldn't let you try out the armor once I'm done with it" he replied "Where have you been Rafael, haven't seen you around for the past week?"

"Well first I went to my first board of directors meeting with Pepper and then she showed me around what will someday become my own company. After that, well I decided to familiarize myself with the company" answered Rafael

"And I presume that your sudden three day trip to and from Afghanistan was a part of introducing yourself to some branch of my company that I am unaware of?"

"You've been tracking me" Rafael said. It was not a question, more like a general statement. "My phone I'm guessing."

"And we have a winner, give the kid a prize" said Tony sarcastically "What on earth were you doing in Afghanistan, how on earth did you manage to do it so secretly and why was the secrecy required? I mean I'm your Father Rafael!"

"Exactly!" he yelled in response "I already lost one father I AM NOT GOING TO LOOSE ANOTHER!"

Rafael took a deep breath, his fingers pressed hard into his palm as he said in a much calmer voice "I have lost my father, my mother, my sisters and almost every single person I grew up alongside with Dad, I am not willing to risk loosing you or Pepper or Happy because in the short few days I have known you guys you have started to become like a second family to me. So yes I went to Afghanistan under as much secrecy as I could generate so that I could meet up with a member of the team who I personally asked to find out who was responsible for the fate that cost me one father, and almost resulted in the loss of a second."

"I could have told you that if you asked, it was the ten rings lead by Genges Khan" Tony replied causing his son to bark out in laughter and say "You really believe… no scratch that you obviously do. But let me just say this, no let me play this."

And with that he pulled out a recorder and pressed play

 _"From what I was able to gather from the news Mr. Stark's convoy was attacked on his way back from a successful meeting with the Armed forces stationed there. But the question remains how did they know as considering whom the convoy was guarding the security would have been prepared for all eventualities and route would have been extremely secure. Furthermore the amount of people that would have been aware of all the specifics would be higher up's in both the army and in Stark Enterprises. In order for the attack to be successful one of those people would have had to have given the info to the Ten Rings. Something which doesn't make sense to me as why on earth would those people WANT to help that organization capture Stark. Then I realized my mistake, they didn't want to capture him, they wanted him dead and it was the organization itself that decided they wanted the man alive, which meant that they would have to alter their plans as from what I gather the plan was to wipe the convoy out wholesale…"_

"That recording was made an hour before we met for the first time" Rafael continued as he switched off the recorder "That should tell you just how easy it was for anyone with half a brain and the correct information to deduce what had happened. I mean if I was able to figure it out as I was dealing with the news of my family's death, then it should have been easy for our company, who I remind you employs many of the smartest people in the world, and our army, of whom a good majority of the higher ups are tactically sound, and truth be told anyone with a good amount of common sense could have come to that conclusion."

"Well that is not exactly true" said Tony "I feel that the only people that would have thought of that would be someone tactical, smart and would have to have been a fan of they conspiracy theories I know you're so fond of. And as for your comment on common sense, aren't you forgetting that common sense is extremely uncommon?"

"Uncommon yes, non-existent no!"

"What… exactly are you implying Rafael?"

Rafael was about to open his mouth to answer but before he could speak JARVIS automated voice said quite clearly "The suit is assembled sir, would you like to wear it.

"Um no, I think that can wait…" Tony started to say just as Rafael said "JARVIS override that command and start assembling the suit on my father. Import all preferences from home interface and create a continuous link to its stats and attach it to my personal tablet."

"Sir?"

"Do it..." said Tony

"Understood Sir" came the automated response as about a dozen robotic arms each carrying a part of the armor converged on the senior Stark and started to assemble the armor. Said Stark gave his son a questioning look and Rafael answered the unasked question, or rather questions "As far as I've been able to find out at least thirteen other people from either your company or the army have started to question the circumstances around your kidnapping, well thirteen of the much less public members at least."

Tony nodded, if anything even remotely harmful happened to Pepper, Rodney or Obi a lot of people would notice "And?"

"Five were… persuaded, either through money or…" said Rafael before he took a deep breath and continued "The rest were… silenced. There may be others who I have no idea of but that's the general gist of the idea… The thing about this is that with all things considered and if you ignore the army personal then there are only two people who could have ordered that attack. You're vastly, Vastly overpaid secretary who pretty much runs this company from your side, and your CEO."

"Pepper or Obi huh" said Tony as the suits helmet was put into place and the entire thing became powered. "JARVIS engage heads up display and start the virtual walk around and check all control surfaces."

"We'll know soon enough, later tonight we're going to be walking the red-hot red carpet down at Disney Concert Hall, where you're third annual benefit is going to be held." Rafael said, there we're going to meet an agent named Phil Coulson who will have confirmation on the person behind you're capture."

"Test complete Sir" came JARVIS's automated voice "Preparing to power down and begin diagnostics."

"Err, no. Tell you what. Do a weather and ATC check. Start listening in on ground control.

"Sir, there are still terabytes of calculations needed before an actual flight is..."

"JARVIS! Sometimes you got to run before you can walk. Start a countdown from T-30s" said Tony as he closed his eyes took in a deep breath and said "It was Obadiah wasn't it?"

"I can't say anything for sure, Agent…"

"You have never call Obi by any variation of his first name; you never speak about him, you're distain for anything to do with him, though carefully concealed from people, is visible to me and the only time you mentioned his name is during this little discussion of ours, is when you said that he was most likely the one who had me kidnapped. You believe that it is Obi isn't it? Don't answer cause I already know the answer" said Tony, finishing just as the count down ended causing him to instantly fire up the armor and Rafael watched as Iron Man flies out of the building and up into the sky and begins flying above the city.

"Oh you fool" muttered Rafael to himself before he straightened out and said "JARVIS divert all attention to my father's armor, use any means necessary to ensure that he doesn't get himself killed."

"Understood Sir"

Rafael turned around and walked straight to his bag and started rummaging through it. If things go according to how they should then the only thing his father should feel is a bad headache, but Rafael couldn't be sure that his presence hadn't altered the result, so he had made a call to a friend he had made at a certain conference in Switzerland almost ten years ago. A confrontation he couldn't help but remember.

* * *

 _:Flashback:_

* * *

 _"Anonymity" he said as a watched a man stare at the beautiful city from a ledge of the building he was standing on._

 _"Huh…?" said the man as he turned around, looking very surprised to see him "I'm sorry, and you are?"_

 _"Doesn't matter" Rafael replied "What matters is that you recognize what Mr. Stark is telling you?"_

 _"Telling me… TELLING ME?" the man replied, starting to shout as he did so "How can the Great Mr. Stark be telling me ANYTHING when HE ISN'T HERE!? And is he so afraid of me that he sends a little boy to speak to me instead of facing me himself."_

 _While he was shouting he had also been walking, or rather stumbling forward towards Rafael and by the time he was finished he was less then a foot away from him and looking down at the ten year old ked with a superior smirk. Rafael just smiled innocently before taking out the man's legs going down on one knee and holding a knife to the mans throat, all with one simple move._

 _"Do be careful Mr. Killian, this little boy could easily slit your throat and dispose of your body as easily as he could brush his teeth. He could also have killed you in the past two hours you've been standing here" Rafael said with a smile, before he pocketed his knife and to his feet and offered his hand. Not that he it would be of much use considering their height difference but it was the gesture that counted. Killian obviously declined and got up as Rafael started to walk to the ledge of the roof of the building they were standing on as he started to say "Mr. Stark sends his apologies that he couldn't be here because he had some pressing matter's to attend to, oh who am I kidding, he couldn't be here because he had to keep up with his persona."_

 _"His Persona?" Killian asked_

 _"You'll understand that later" Rafael replied dismissively as he continued to look out at the city and say "You know I'll bet that for the first twenty minutes to thirty minutes you actually thought that he would show up, and then for the next hour and a half you considered taking that one step shortcut to the lobby, but then something clicked, I could see that you'd finally gotten the message that Mr. Stark sent you up here to receive."_

 _Rafael turned around leaned against the railings and said "Care to tell me what it was?"_

 _"Anonymity" said Killian sounding so unsure, but Rafael's smile told him he'd guessed right._

 _"Simply telling you would do nothing, it would accomplish nothing. You needed to see for yourself." Rafael said "I would have stopped you if you had decided to take that shortcut but if you had you wouldn't have leant the lesson that he sent you up here to learn."_

 _"Which is?"_

 _"That Anonymity and Subtlety are the two most powerful weapons almost every man has in his arsenal and I doubt that will change until a man and a hammer drops from the sky" Rafael said "And that desperation is the most powerful driving force, period. Trust me when I say that the day Mr. Stark is driven to the point that he is truly desperate, that is the day that the world as we know it, will start to change forever."_

 _Killian closed his eyes, considering everything that he had been told. For a moment there was silence and Rafael considered making his exit, right there and then before the man spoke again "Is that what you mean by his Persona?"_

 _"I beg your pardon?"_

 _"Antony was famous from the moment he was born. I doubt that there is a place he could go on this earth where he wouldn't be recognized so Anonymity, which you said was one of the most powerful weapons in any mans arsenal was out" Killian said "But Antony's personality simply screams out to you wherever he goes. He is loud, he is flashy, and he is VERY noticeable. How can he be considered subtle?"_

 _"Don't you see Killian. He is loud, flashy, and noticeable. No one expects him to be subtle, no one even entertains the thought that he could work in the shadows. So no one ever goes looking for it when he does." Rafael continued "Unfortunately that has its downsides as well. Play a role for to long and you become the role itself. "_

 _Rafael paused for a moment before he continued "You know he did a little research about you after he sent you up here, and the reason he did this is because he believes that you are a lot like him, however you have access to tools that he doesn't."_

 _"Anonymity?"_

 _"And desperation, because tonight regardless of what has happened, you are truly a desperate man… All that he asks, and_ _ **I**_ _ask is that you use the talent that you have and the power that you will obtain, for the good of our nation and for the betterment of our race as a whole."_

 _Killian was silent._

 _"Mr. Stark is an Iron Monger and as such can't afford to be seen as, well as a good guy. That means, any act of charity, any act of kindness must be kept hidden and veiled, even from the people he is helping so that people don't see him as a so called soft target. Trust me when I say that he is far from that but you get what I'm saying don't you Mr. Killian" Rafael continued "He once told me, and this is something that I completely agree on, that there is nothing better than knowing that you're making a difference, that there is nothing better than helping the down trodden, the less fortunate and so on. Their smiles when they realize that their lives are about to get better forever. We are human and so we have to take care of our own needs first. Make a fortune Mr. Killian, ensure that you and your family are set for life, but after that. Try and do some good in this world, that is all he and I ask…"_

 _There was silence again for a moment before a phone in his pocket Rafael's pocket began to ring. He took it out and shut off the alarm that showed that his window of time was put and said "Oh and when we meet again I hope that you take me up on my offer?"_

 _"Which is?"_

 _"Friendship Mr. Killian" Rafael replied with a smile "When we meet again I hope you'll have forgiven me for how I treated you here and that we can become friends for the coming future… Oh, and one last thing. This conversation never happened. Whether in public or in private the only thing that you need to tell someone bout this night is how devastated when Mr. Stark failed to meet you or send any message to you…! This is a wish from both of us so please try to fulfill it, it would be so unfortunate if you suffered an accident now wouldn't it?"_

 _The meaning of accident was very clear._

* * *

 _End Flashback._

* * *

Rafael had met with Killian again, this time being formally introduced to the man as Yinsen Ho's son, and they had really hit it off together. It seems that the man had really taken his words to the heart, not just about anonymity and subtlety but he had become charitable, approachable and an all round good guy. It seemed that this world would not experience the Mandarian, well not one under Killian at the very least.

Of course he could be wrong but he doubted it, for if that was the case then why would he have given him a vial of Extremis. Of course there were several arguments, safety procedures and discussions and promises to not use it save as an absolutely last resort, because there was a good chance of failure and then there was also the fact that you could end up killing others along with yourself.

And speaking of Extremis, when that soldier… whatever his name was… exploded during that failed test, A.I.M claimed responsibility instead of sullying the Marine's good name. Killian had suffered a lot of heat because of it but he had told Rafael in private "Hey, it was better that turning a marine who had sacrificed so much for our country into a terrorist!"

And that, more than anything else told the young Stark exactly what he needed to know.

* * *

"Eighty-five thousand feet, eighty-five THOUSAND FEET, ARE YOU INSANE?" shouted Pepper at such a high volume that Rafael, who was standing a good fifteen feet away winced "YOU could have DIED, you could have been seriously injured Tony! What in the world were you thinking?"

It seemed that events hadn't changed as far as he had thought. He had originally wondered if the completion of the Iron-Man suit and his gala happened on two different days and he had somehow changed events, considering that Pepper had placed her present, Tony's first mini arc-reactor out of all things, after he had taken off on his first flight but before he went to the Gala.

However it seemed that she had entered the beach-house and had entered the apartment while the man was flying over Malabu. Unfortunately this time around Rafael had JARVIS display several live feeds of his father's aero-dramatics on several different monitors as well as a dozen different real time analysis charts off said armor being holoprojected inside the workshop. Really it was impossible for Pepper NOT to notice what was going on.

On the bright side his father had come through with nothing but a minor concussion, and while it was easily accessible, Extremis was hidden for Pepper and JARVIS. He really wasn't worried about his father because he doubted that Tony would mess with it even if he DID find it. The man had a serious preference for _Hardware_ as opposed to _Software._ Not that he was against or inexperienced with the latter but you get the picture.

"Sir I don't mean to disturb you, but if you tally any longer I calculate a 56% chance that you will be late to the opening" said JARVIS "Don't you think that you should ask Mrs. Potts to desist?"

"And the reason your not doing it yourself is?" asked Rafael but he received no answer, it seemed that Tony had programmed his AI with a sense of self preservation, which was a good thing as JARVIS was really starting to grow on him. Oh well "Pepper, do you think you can stop shouting at my father. We kind of need to get ready for my father annual benefit at the Disney Concert Hall and we or rather he can't do that while you are berating him."

It seemed however that Pepper hadn't her fill of yelling at people yet and spun around as she fixed her boss's son with such a glare that if looks could kill, Rafael had no doubt that he would be dead… or living life in a third reincarnation in some alternate dimension (he seriously hoped it would either be in the Harry Potter universe or the Naruto universe if that happened), but that was neither here nor there.

"And You! I thought that you were responsible; I thought that you could keep him out of trouble and yet here you stand. Not only did you stand around doing nothing as he did what could probably be considered the greatest act of stupidity in his life but on top of that instead of berating him and letting him recover you want to take him out to a party?"

"Hey Hey Hey" Rafael said sharply "First of all lets get a couple of things clear Mrs. Potts. First up, he's the parent not ME! If anything he should be the one preventing me from doing stupid things not the other way around. And second and more important, I am not taking him out to party, I'm taking him for a meeting!"

"A meeting?" stated Pepper, who was caught flat footed with that little bit of information "But you just said that you…"

"Were going to the benefit yes. This is not the kind of meeting that can be done inside offices" Rafael said, "It is regarding the leak that I had mentioned during the press conference when Dad revealed my parentage to the world."

"So instead you are going to have at the annual benefit?" said Pepper, confusion clearly evident in her voice "I mean its going to be so loud and so crowded."

"Because of which there is a much less chance of being overheard" Rafael replied "You've been trying to show me around the office life at Stark Industries because that is your world, because that is what you are the best at. Subterfuge, secret meetings, internal investigations, that's my world Pepper, and trust me when I say that I know it well."

"Promise me you'll take care of him."

"Considering that's where you're heading, you'll be there to take care of both of us Pepper" Rafael replied with a smile "and on that note I would like to say that you look absolutely marvelous tonight Mrs. Potts.

"Why thank you Mr. Stark" she replied in a tone that was a mix of modest and professional at the same time "Shall I ask Happy to bring around the Limo for all of us?"

"No, you and Happy can go on ahead, me and dad will arrive later" Rafael replied in a similar tone "Shall I escort you out Mrs. Potts?"

"That would be most appreciated Mr. Stark" she replied and the two of them walked out of the lab, but not before Rafael looked his father straight in the eye and mouthed 'Get Dressed'. Tony smirked and watched as his son and his Personal Assistant walked out of his lab before he looks at the parcel Pepper brought with her for him with a little note on top that says, 'From Pepper'. He smiles a little and opens the brown paper wrapping. Inside is the Mark I chest piece he told her to destroy. It's now encased in a glass box and has the words, 'Proof that Tony Stark has a heart' engraved around it.

This time he gave a full cheek to cheek smile before he put it down and exited his lab, heading up to get dressed.

* * *

Approximately an hour later both father and son were sitting inside a sleek black Lamborghini that was apparently driving itself.

"Notes, main transducer feels sluggish at plus 40 altitude. Hull pressurisation is problematic. I'm thinking icing is the probable factor" said Tony as he looked at some schematics displayed on a tablet in his hand "JARVIS, connect to the sys. co. Have it reconfigure the shell metals. Use the gold titanium alloy from the seraphim tactical satellite. That should ensure fuselage integrity while maintaining power-to-weight ratio. Got it?"

"Yes Sir." came JARVIS's automated response from… somewhere in the car "Shall I render using proposed specifications?"

"Thrill me." Came the response and Rafael couldn't help but snot at the absurdity of the situation. Here he was sitting in a car, a very fashionable and expensive car mind you, driven by an actual Artificial Intelligence, something that only THE most powerful and dangerous men in the world possess mind you, discussing specifications for a suit of armor that could possibly revolutionize modern warfare, and his father was acting so base that it made you feel that the entire situation was an everyday occurrence and therefore beneath his notice.

"You know I still can't believe that modified the Lamborghini so that it could be driven by an Artificial Intelligence and then installed an uplink to JARVIS into it" Rafael said "On second thought, yes I can believe that you would do that, but doesn't it take away the experience of driving this beauty?"

Hey, he had a love for cars, sue him!

"True" Tony acknowledged "However usually I manually drive this car, while discussing business with JARVIS, Obi or simply enjoying the scenery. Today though, I guess I'm just a bit too distracted to do so."

"Yeah, you're about to find out who among some of the people you trust most in the world, is selling weapons to the highest bidder

"The render is complete" came JARVIS's automated voice and Rafael simply had to smirk and say "And speaking of the devil."

"It's a little ostentatious, don't you think?" Tony added helpfully

"What was I thinking?" said JARVIS "You're usually so discreet."

"Tell you what. Throw a little hot-rod red in there."

"Yeah, cause that should help you keep a low profile" Rafael said and they as they both looked at the complete render "JARVIS prepare a secondary suit with white in place of red and an attached arc reactor.

"Sir?" came JARVIS's automated voice as Tony looked at his new found son straight in his eye for several long moments, it wasn't the usual jubilant or amused look that was present in his eyes, no the man's eyes now look hard, cold and above all, calculating. "Do as he says JARVIS, but make sure you are uploaded into everything. Also include a kill switch and a detonator into both the suit and the arc reactor."

"Understood Sir" the automated voice replied "Commencing automated assembly. Estimated completion time is six hours."

"It not that I don't believe you are exactly who you say you are" Tony started to say "Its just that…"

"You don't trust me. Because no matter how closely we are related, I don't have your trust… Save you're apologies father, I would have done the same" Rafael replied "Besides, the best kind of trust is the kind that you earn. And someday, I will completely earn yours… By the way, just HOW can you make a kill switch for reactor?"

Tony smirked at the reply before leaning forward and deactivating the autopilot, (or is it auto driver?) and drove the car inside the concert hall, they had arrived. They both got down and Tony gave the valet his keys (not that it needed a valet to be parked of course but there WERE some things that Tony felt were better kept secret. A car operated by an AI was one of them, the AI itself was another.) Rafael watched as his father walked along the red carpet completely unfazed. As for him however despite all his training he still couldn't help but smile and wave several times as he walked along side, but slightly behind his father, who introduced him to several people in along the way. People who he never thought he would ever get to meet, in both worlds considering the kind of celebrity status they had. Soon enough he was forced to rely on his training as his father spotted Obidiah speaking to several reporters and had to discreetly, but strongly restrain him from going and making a scene.

Personally he thought the words _'not yet, if we're wrong then you loose a very good friend and if we are correct we could tip him off and he could flee and get away scot free. Just wait, the truth will come out soon enough and then the guilty will suffer'_ had more to do with convincing his father than anything else.

Course the minute they went inside Tony walked straight to the bar and said "Give me a Scotch. I'm starving… on second thought cancel that and give me a Long Island Ice Tea."

"I'll have that Scotch please" said a man dressed in such an expensive and fancy suit that it caused TONY to give it a once over before looking at the man who was wearing it. Other than the ridiculously expensive suit (which both Tony and Rafael knew just how expensive as the former had only ONE such suit in his wardrobe back at his Malibu beachside house) the man looked like your everyday type of guy, he even sound like the person like your everyday citizen. However Rafael unlike Tony, knew that the man sitting beside his father was dangerous, very dangerous, just how dangerous he had no idea, fortunately the man was also easy-going, calm-minded and, truth be told, a good guy in most sense's of the word. And so, he decided to stick back and observe the two men converse before joining their conversation.

"Mr Stark?" He said

"Yeah?" Tony replied

"Agent Coulson from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"God, you need a new name for that."

"Yeah, I hear that a lot. Listen, I know this must be a trying time for you, but we need to debrief you. There's still a lot of unanswered questions, and time can be a factor with these things…."

"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah… Let's just put something on the books" Tony replied distractedly as he noticed Pepper across the room.

"How about the 24th at 7:00p.m. at Stark Industries?"

"Tell you what. You got it. You're absolutely right. Well, I'm going to go to my assistant, and we'll make a date" he replied as he got up and quickly walked over to Pepper. A few moments later Rafael slid into his father's empty seat and said "Ten bucks says that he doesn't even mention it!"

"That's a sucker bet and you know it Mr. Stark" he replied with a smirk "I assume you want to know what Agent Romanoff uncovered through her… research?"

"It's just Rafael Agent Coulson, and of course I do" Rafael said "Also, did Commander Fury find the answers you two were looking for?"

"If that's the case then call me Phil Rafael, and yes he did, thanks to the tip you gave us" Coulson replied "Natasha managed to confirm your theory, but getting the information ready in such a way that it will seem squeaky clean from a legal point of view as well as unearthing more of Mr. Stane less than steller activities, will take time. From what we can figure, we will have everything we need by the end of the week."

"Hence the twenty-fourth." Rafael said as he filled in the blanks. The twenty fourth being exactly seven days from now as well as the first working day of the coming week. They both sat there in silence for a while just having a sip of their Drinks, Coulson drinking his scotch, Rafael drinking his father's Long Island Ice Tea which the man hadn't even touched. Finally Rafael said "On another note, nice suit you're wearing tonight, though how did you even afford it with an agents pay?"

"Always wanted one of these, so I saved up till I could buy one" said Coulson "Plus you really don't have any idea of a S.H.I.E.L.D agents pay now do you?"

"True enough" Rafael replied. It was clearly he really didn't need to feel the need to voice the fact that only an extremely valuable and integral part of the division could earn the paycheck that he did, after all what would that accomplish? No, he simply smiled as he looked behind just in time to see his father start talking to a very familiar blonde who was not a part of Stark Industries, before looking at his drinking companion and saying "Anything that I need to know Agent Phill?"

"Just Phill" he replied "and yes. Both you and I know about the true state of Gulmira, but it would be very beneficial in the long run if Mr. Stark doesn't know about it.

"You know that all this manipulation will come back to bit S.H.I.E.L.D one day, and trust me when I say that it will bite HARD!" Rafael replied "And just how long has Christina been on you're payroll?"

"Not that long, she's one of our… unwritten assets" Coulson replied with a smirk, glad to see that Natasha's perception of him being very unusually perceptive being accurate. Considering that the second most perceptive person in her mind was her fellow S.H.I.E.L.D Agent Clint Barton, who she considered mildly perceptive, Coulson would have been disappointed if he hadn't figured it out by the end of the night. "We usually trade information and capitol for information and the occasional misinformation. And truth be told Mr. Stark, whether it does or doesn't come back to bite us is irrelevant, what is relevant however is that S.H.I.E.L.D keeps the peace in our world and protects the people that inhabit it."

"Before the decade is up I will be asking you that question again Phill, and I sincerely doubt that you will truly feel the same" Rafael replied and offered his hand saying "It was truly a pleasure to meet you again Agent Coulson."

"Likewise Mr. Stark" the agent replied as he stood up and shook the young mans hand and watched as he walked off, disappearing into the crowd. Rafael, on his part went straight to the roof where he saw another blonde waiting patiently for someone who he knew was not going to show up.

* * *

"I thought you would be enjoying yourself on the dance floor Rafael" said Pepper as she looked at the person who had just come onto the roof. "So what are you doing here?"

"Apologizing for my father" he replied "Christina Evenheart form Vanity Fair, who I'm assuming you must have meet at some point of your carrier as my father PA, just gave my father some bad news… The town that my father and his savior Yinsen Ho grew up and lived in, the town that I myself grew up in has been completely whipped off the map, its inhabitants and infrastructure totally destroyed by Stark Weaponary."

Pepper's eyes widened, she really didn't know what to say to that. After all what do you say to someone who just found out that the place that they grew up in has been razed to the ground, along with everyone he knew from there.

"Living in Afganistan you learn, both intellectually and instinctively that death can come at any time, that every moment can be your last. When you say goodbye to someone over there you really mean it because in your heart you know that there is a good chance that you will never see them again" said Rafael in a voice that didn't seem to belong on someone in shock or moaning but rather on someone who was at peace with himself "I've lost all my close friends and family form there and have moaned them sufficiently. Right now though I want to be there for the family that I've found over here."

He looked up and looked at Pepper straight in her eye. She could literally see the emotion that was there, a deep chasm of sorrow, yet at the same time there was also acceptance in them. He smiled at her and said "I know that its your night off Pepper, but can I ask you and Happy to take me back to the beach house. If I know my father he will be blaming himself for all their deaths, but I don't, and neither would anyone I know from there. So please, take me back to him, let me speak to him Pepper, please."

And Pepper said the only thing that she could say, that she wanted to say "Of course"

* * *

 **I hope that all of you enjoyed the second chapter of White Knight...  
don't forget to review...**

Rafaelout out...


	3. Chapter 3

**I** **have no claim whatsoever to any part of Marvel Studio's and/or the Avengers Franchise...**

* * *

Boom!

Boom Boom!

Boom Boom Boom!

"Please stop" said a voice causing Tony to turn around, the metal gauntlets on his arms still primed to fire. "You're not going to help anyone by destroying your lab father."

"Help anyone?" asked Tony sarcastically "When have I EVER helped anyone? I have been building weapons of mass destruction since my youth. Billions have probably met their death thanks to me! All the good you think I have ever done is probably hopelessly dwarfed by the lives that have been lost thanks to me..."

"ENOUGH!" Rafael said angrily "I did NOT come down here to watch you pity yourself. But if you really want to know what you have done then let me tell you a small tale. In a small town there lived a pair of fraternal twins, one a young blond boy, the other a feisty red haired girl, along with their parents. One day a shell hits the apartment of the building, and probably the only building in that town, where they lived. The first shell took out half the apartment and killed the parents. The young by grabbed his sister and rolled under the bed and that's when a second shell hit the apartment and landed just three feet from their faces, but it did not explode. The twins trapped in there for two whole days. Every single time the building shook they thought that that it would go off. Every time a rescue attempt was mounted they couldn't help but think that this would be the end, that this would be their end. For two whole days they were stuck there, under the bed, staring at that shell and the only word that was visible on it, STARK"

Tony's eyes widened and Rafael could easily guess his thoughts. He had been so focused on the lives lost because of his weapons that he had forgotten about the other results his weapons could leave. About the people who had survived encounters with them (which now ironically included himself), about people who had lost friends and family thanks to them. Antony Stark for the first time was realizing just how devastating his weapons were to the people they were used against.

"But what you fail to understand is that it is not just your legacy to bear" he continued " **I** AM a Stark. I am Rafael Stark and my family's legacy has been one of bloodshed, started by my grandfather and expanded and continued by you. It is my duty to wipe the slate clean, clean out the red from my family's ledger and start a new legacy for those that come after us, but I can't do it alone."

"What would you have me do" asked Tony as he stepped closer to his son.

"You already begun to do it" Rafael replied "You closed down the weapons manufacturing division of our company. And once we have enough evidence to bring Stane down you are going to reopen it. But not to produce weapons of mass destruction no, we have both seen the aftereffects of those. What you are going to produce is armor and rifles, better armor and better rifles for our nation, because out there are probably millions of soldiers, Marines, SEALs and whatnot that are dependent on your weapons and armor, and leaving them drying is the same as pulling the trigger ourselves. But those are just small steps."

At that point Rafael stepped very close to his father and tapped both of his gauntlets saying "The first step, the first true step, is what you are wearing and what JARVIS is currently assembling. Tonight we sleep, we take a good eight hour sleep… And tomorrow we don our armor and we ride out as fast as the wind can carry us. We track down our weapons and we destroy them, before taking those sons of B****** down. Tomorrow we take the first step towards redemption…"

At that point Rafael reached into his pocket and pulled out a pill, and offered it along with a plastic glass of water he was holding, to his father saying "But for now, we rest."

And just like clockwork his father took the pill and swallowed it before taking the glass of water and drinking all of it, and a few seconds later he fell forward, straight into his son's open arms.

"Yes for now we rest" said Rafael to himself as he hoisted his father up on his shoulder and took him to his bed before going to his own room, taking his own tablet and falling asleep, his last words of the night being "We rest…"

* * *

Maria Hill, a very attractive and one of the highest ranking communications officer in S.H.I.E.L.D was having a very entertaining morning. She had received a call from her colleague, Agent Phill Coulson yesterday, telling her to be ready to protect cover _the asset's_ hide. Truth be told she still had no idea why he had been given the code-name asset. Maybe it was his really close association with Special Agents Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton. Maybe it was his association with other high ranking S.H.I.E.L.D agents, his ability to literally travel all over the world without raising eyebrows and not having to go in disguise. Maybe it was his close relation with Aldrich Killian and recently revealed familial connection with Antony Stark, who are the owners of Advance Idea Mechanics and Stark Industries respectively. Maybe it was a combination of all of them.

All that she knew was that S.H.I.E.L.D literally had dozens of assets who were more valuable than him and yet, he was code-named _the asset_ in their files. Maria Hill didn't know the reason behind it, neither did she question it. All she did was her job… and this time her job was to cover _the asset's_ hide after he and his father dug themselves… into whatever mess they wanted to dig themselves into this time.

That didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun with him though.

She will admit however that she was impressed when she saw two metal suits of armor appear over a town in Afghanistan, take out the terrorists that were terrorizing the locals, handing the terrorist's leader to said locals so that they could extract their vengeance, before flying over to the terrorist camp and razing it to the ground. They managed to liberate three separate towns and take out five separate camps before the Air Force's F-22 Raptors managed to catch up to them.

She smirks when she sees a call labeled Stark Industries flash over her screen as she answers it saying "This is Hill, over"

"Maria, this is Rafael, I'm currently being followed by two F-22 raptors who intend to blow my father and I out of the sky. Can I get a little help, please?"

"And this is S.H.I.E.L.D's problem… Why?

"Please Hill" he said agitated "All it would take is a single call from you guys to get these guys off our tails."

"Again this is my problem… Why?"

"Oh COME ON!" he yelled, desperation clear in his voice "Is this payback for me blowing you off that day, cause that was totally Natasha and Tony's fault, not mine…"

"Well you DID discover that he was your father that day, so I guess I can forgive you for forgetting to call me and tell me that you couldn't make it" she said, with a smirk on her lips. Actually Natasha HAD told her that Rafael wouldn't be able to make it, but she needed some excuse to mess with him. Besides if those suits couldn't handle two raptors than they deserved to be shot out of the sky. "Fine I'll do it, but you owe me big time!"

"Got it, just get the air force of my back please" Rafael said before he cut that connection and opened another with Tony "Dad when I give the word deploy flaps and then boost yourself in the opposite direction, got it?"

"Got it!"

"Ok... NOW!" Rafael shouted.

Now perhaps the beat way to describe deploying flaps, would be to liken it to stepping on the brakes and pulling the handbrake up simultaneously in a fast moving car. Now imagine that car moving at supersonic speeds and you will get something akin to what the two Iron Men tried to do.

Basically both Antony and Rafael got a really REALLY bad case of whiplash and disorientation. Fortunately having already foreseen this Jarvis remotely took control of both armors and shot them off in the opposite direction as the jets that were chasing them.

* * *

"God's that was exhilarating wasn't it?" said Tony after JARVIS finish pulling off the armor from him.

"Speak for yourself" groaned Rafael who was already out of his armor and lying flat on the ground. "And since when do you believe in Gods?"

"I don't… it's just a figure of speech!"

"Un huh…" he muttered in reply "JARVIS, can you use the data from our flights as well as a predictive algorithm based on possible Mark flight patterns to create an ideal physical conditioning program for us to undergo in order to be better equipped to handle the suits"

"It is possible" JARVIS said "…Sir?"

"Do it" said Tony, knowing that his AI was asking for his permission to carry out that order. He walked over to his son and helped pull him up.

"Thanks" murmured Rafael before asking "Now what?"

"Now…"said Tony, pausing to think for a moment before continuing "Now I think I'll call Pepper and find out if I have any outstanding work to do…"

Rafael snorted "Why? It's not like you'd do it… And speaking of Pepper don't you have a board meeting to attend?"

"I just like reminding Pepper about what _she_ needs to do" Tony replied "And as for the board meeting, I'm sure Ob… you know what, you're right. I need to be at that meeting."

"Aren't I always?" Rafael asked cockily before adding "And if you need something to pitch to the board, why don't you try Terra-forming. I mean the only reason why we haven't been able to do it is because…"

"We need a constant source of clean energy that an Arc Reactor can provide" Tony muttered in reply "How could I have missed that? I mean its not like I need the miniature arc reactor to do it… the one powering my factory could have done the job just as well…, well almost just as well considering that this new model is much more sophisticated than that oversized piece of junk…"

"… Dad, meeting" Rafael said cutting through his father tirade in order to get him back on track.

"Right… JARVIS, you heard that right."

"Indeed sir, I've already prepared the Lamborghini and I'm currently in the process of making travel arrangements."

"Very good" Tony said "And Happy?"

"Is already waiting by the car sir." Came the AI automated reply

"Excellent" said Tony walking forward and just as he reached the door of his lab he spun around and faced the desk that his son had been sitting on ever since he had gotten up from the floor "Are you coming?"

Rafael couldn't help but grin, coming from Antony Stark, the self-professed lone wolf, those three words showed him that his father had started trusting him and warming up to him "Thanks, but I doubt I'll be of any use to you in the meeting. I would appreciate the lift to New York though, though we may need to use a different car…"

"True enough" muttered Tony, the Lamborghini only had two seats after all "JARVIS inform Happy…"

"I have already informed him sir" the AI responded, "He will be in at the entrance in approximately three minutes"

"Excellent" said Tony as he started to walk out of the lab, with his son right beside him as they made their way out of the house. Almost forty five minutes, when they were on the Stark private plane, Rafael sat down as he watched his father quickly prepare several notes and make several slides for his presentation at the meeting, which if all went well, would result in stopping another nefarious man's work from bearing fruit.

Rafael however had a different goal to accomplish. He knew that there was about six months between now and the Harlem incident, if his knowledge of this universe remained true, which meant that General Theodore Ross must already possess the mothballed version of Doctor Earskin's formula… It also meant that Banner and Sterns must have just started communicating with each other… Which ultimately meant that with a little luck and help from SHIELD, he could find them both.

Finding them however, wasn't a priority yet. He had somehow managed to get himself into the feed through which the current Hulk and the future Gamma Leader (if he couldn't stop him from becoming what it) were exchanging messages through. Rafael's main aim right now was earning Banners trust, and though this would be a bad first impression, it would be more preferable to waiting until the Hulk and the Abomination had a grudge match in New York City. So he took out his own laptop, which was as virtually secure as it could be, entered in an email address and typed in a message. "Hello Mr. Green, I'm Mr. Black."

He waited… held his breath for a few minutes… and then, almost as if a prayer had been answered, he received a reply.

"Hello Mr. Black, I am Mr. Green."

* * *

"JARVIS, place a call to Mr. Coulson from the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division. Tell him to give me a call at his earliest convenience" Rafael spoke into the earpiece he was wearing. It had been a productive flight. Banner was understandably skittish, but Rafael felt that towards the end he had made a bit of progress, though he would wait and see what happens on that front. "Also, has package arrived in the hanger."

"It has Sir" the AI responded "Unfortunately your father decided to tinker with it the last time he visited New York and ended up giving it some major upgrades."

"What did he do" Rafael asked humorously as he finally got down from the plane, Happy and Tony were already long gone "Attach a hidden arc reactor to power it, hardwire a computer through it and program you into it?"

He said that question as a joke, which is why he did a double take when the AI responded "Affirmative sir"

"Is… are you connected to the helmet" he asked as looked at the center of the garage where a sleek black Kawasaki Ninja 250R was parked. Rafael immediately noticed the arc reactor which seemed to be attached to the front wheel of all places, fortunately though, it was placed in such a way that no one would really think it was a reactor unless they went to closely examine it, and with JARVIS programmed into the bike, there was little to no chance of something happening to it

"Yes sir, I can also take control of the bike if desired" responded the AI

"I see… I may take you up on that eventually, but for now…" said Rafael as he put on the helmet before he a sudden thought entered his mind "JARVIS, when did he go to New York?"

He had gotten the bike before just before he knew the truth about his family, it was actually a gift from the people he was close to in SHIELD, and when he and Tony had a semi-decent relationship he had asked I it could be moved from the parking lot of his, or rather his late father's flat, to this hanger. The only possible time that Tony could have come here though, was during the week that Pepper was showing him around the company, but that made absolutely no sense considering that Tony was already neck deep in designing his armor.

"I am sorry sir, but you are not cleared for that information" JARVIS responded causing Rafael to wonder what secrets did his father still have under his sleeve before he started the bike and rode out. There was a man in New York he needed to see, and hopefully he could convince the man to come and work for him.

Rafael stood outside a door, a plain and simple apartment door that was identical to the half a dozen other doors in the corridor save for their number. It wasn't the door that was bothering him, it was actually the person who would answer it, the person who lived inside this apartment.

If it wasn't for his obsession with movies in his last life he would have never even known about this place, even with all his friends in SHIELD. It was simply too high profile. He was sure that the doorman was a highly trained SHIELD agent, and he was pretty sure at least half the tenets on this floor were SHIELD agents. He was absolutely sure that there was no paper trail anywhere, but Fury had to create this place in a rush, and that meant mistakes, small ones but they existed.

Like the fact that Sharon Carter, Peggy Carter's last living descendant lived in this building. And both the Captain and Shannon went to visit Peggy. Well he knew what they looked like and thanks to bit of hacking, he knew what their aliases were. After that it was just a matter of tracking down the known addresses of those aliases (there were several and Rafael was willing to bet that the decoy addresses were traps), and check which pair of addresses were in the same building and viola, he was here.

Rafael took a deep breath and rang the bell.

Thirty seconds later the door opened and Rafael got his first look at the world's Living Legend. Tall, lean and very muscular, Steve Rogers seemed built for both strength and speed and despite being dressed in a simple white shirt and jeans, he seemed to radiate authority.

He knew Natasha Romanoff, who could look like anyone, be anyone, and yet seemed to radiate danger… He'd met Phil Coulson and Clint Barton, who were professional and firm and he'd met Commander Fury who simply seemed to radiate authority… Steve Rogers was all of them and more, he seemed to radiate trust and leadership, he seemed to be… a captain.

"Captain Steve Rogers" said Rafael "I never thought I'd see this bit but it's an honor to meet you."

"Why thank you" Steve said lightly "It's good to meet you too Mr….?"

"Stark" he replied, realizing he hadn't introduced himself "Rafael Stark."

Steve smiled and smoothly stepped out of the way as he invited one of his late friend's (he tried not to think of how many of those he had) grandson into his apartment, an invitation that Rafael gratefully took.

"So what can I do for you Mr. Stark" said the Captain once they were both comfortably seated.

"Rafael please Captain, and what makes you think that I want something from you?"

"Multiple things actually" said Steve "For one I knew your grandfather, and that man never did anything without a purpose. And from what I was able to read between the lines I could say the same about your father – when he wasn't drunk out of his mind that is. Also considering just how high profile SHIELD is treating my recovery… well lets just say that you wouldn't have found this place without doing a lot of research, and you wouldn't have done all of that without hoping to gain something from it… Oh, and please call me Steve"

"Wow" said Rafael completely floored "You're a regular monster aren't you."

He was starting to see just why Captain America was working high profile assignments from the moment he joined SHIELD (which hadn't happened yet)

"Well I did lead a company of soldiers against a rogue intelligence division in world war two, I'm use to anticipating and countering whatever those scientific and strategic minds threw at my men and I" he replied "You still didn't answer the question though."

"It's quite simple – Steve, I want you to come work for me" said Rafael "And before you decline I want you to just hear me out."

Captain Rogers nodded once as he leaned back and prepared himself for another sales pitch.

"My father and his personal assistant Pepper Potts keep on insisting that I need a bodyguard, something that I don't necessarily agree with as before my identity came out into the open, I was training to be a SHIELD agent" said Rafael "And while hiring a bodyguard would be redundant for me, it would be beneficial for both of us if you come work for me. The world has changed since the war Captain, you know that, and reading about those changes and jogging in the streets isn't going to change that. As my bodyguard you will be exposed to many many different elements of our society, especially the rich and the influential, while relatively keeping yourself out of the spotlight. See for yourself what their gilded battlefield looks like, see for yourself just how treacherous it is. And then go out into the public, sit down listen and experience what life is for an ordinary man, what life is for a good man, because above all else that is what your are Steve and that's what your life would have been like if you were born in this society… and after you've seen all that and combining it with all the horrors that I know you've experienced in the war and knowing that those horror's exist today, well… then you can decide just what part you want your life to take. I'll make you this offer Steve, come and work for me for six months, within that time you can make enough money to pay back what you feel you owe to SHIELD, or you could go to work with them if you don't decide to stick with me. Six months to see the world as I see it Steve… that is all I ask."

Captain Rogers looked thoughtful for a moment before asking "Just how long were you working on that speech?"

"It was touch and go really" Rafael replied "I've been working on what I'd say to you since I started to suspect that you were alive since I knew that SHIELD had found your ship, that was if I'd have found you at all… Today was more opportunistic rather than any major planning on my part."

"Well it was very well done" Steve said "I've heard a few better ones from SHIELD but… Just six months right, no obligation beyond that?"

"Of course" Rafael replied "Just six months of watching over me and not a day more unless you decide you want to continue being my bodyguard."

"Alright… Then where do I sign up?"

* * *

After that things were a lot smoother. Fury had called almost immediately and had set up the Captain with a good alias, good references and a background that was as similar to the Captains original background as it could be, Steve even got to keep his full name… though the man was all too suspicious about the perfect timing of the call, which the Commander claimed was about his unknown visitor. Rafael though… well he already knew that the apartment was bugged, but there was no way to reveal that information without implicating himself, so he let things be, for now.

The ride back to the hanger was smooth and Steve was already, officially his personal bodyguard thanks to some quick documents and contracts courtesy of SHIELD. He soon arrived back at the hanger where his dad, Pepper and Happy were already waiting. Once the usual greeting were done Tony looked at Steve and said "So, who's this?"

"Well you know how Pepper's always bugging me to get a bodyguard" said Rafael causing the woman in question to look at him with… well something… "Well I would like to introduce you all to Captain Steve Rogers, who's a veteran from the US Army with an outstanding service record."

"Let me guess, he served during World War Two, led the Howling Commando's and knocked out Adolf Hitler forty-two times" said Tony causing the man in question to snort in amusement at that last point "Why didn't you tell me about - wait, actually HOW did you even know? I didn't know so how did you?"

"Wait. That's actually Captain America?" asked Pepper as she quickly caught on to the fact that her boss wasn't joking (she knew him so well that she could distinguish that fact from the tone that her boss used) but the two Starks ignored her and continued with their conversation as if she hadn't said anything.

"I knew a couple of explorers had found his ship" Rafael replied "and when there wasn't a funeral honoring him, I figured he was alive…"

"Or being dissected" pointed out Tony

"… or being dissected" agreed Rafael as he continued "I've been looking for him ever since."

"And you didn't bring me on this, Why?"

"Because it was more of an idle curiosity rather than a true pursuit" Rafael responded "and before you ask, yes, I did manage to find him just before we arrived in New York… well an address belonging to one of his aliases at the very least, and I used the opportunity to go and meet with possibly one of Earths true Living Legends."

"How" asked Steve, slightly surprising all those gathered "How exactly did you find me?"

"Peggy Carter."

"Pardon?"

"She is possibly the last true living link to your past Captain" Rafael said, in a much more calmer voice "I knew that you would visit her, and while you can change your name, you can't change your face, well not easily at any rate… after that it was just the matter of tracing you to your apartment."

"Again how?" he asked, "Even if I hadn't noticed anyone trailing me, or someone hanging about by the hospital reception, you just stated that you just came to New York, so how did you manage to tail me?"

"Captain" Rafael said looking him straight in the eye "One of the things that you need to understand about today's world is that it is a digital world. I may be half way around the world and I can still have ears o someone, and even if I'm in Malibu I can still have eye on you… in this case, via cameras, Specifically traffic cams and hospital's security cams."

"It's a lot more complicated than that, and I'm sure that without the technology available at my house, which is probably the most advanced in the world, he wouldn't have been able to track you" said Tony "So any concerns you have about everyday security are moot to the point… though you'll learn a lot more about it during your carrier as my son's bodyguard… Now, if you don't mind I'm tired, sweaty and I would like to be on our way as soon as possible, so if you don't mind…"

He then went up the steps leading up to the private jet quickly followed by the others.

* * *

It wasn't long before they arrived back at Malibu, and when they did Rafael received a call from a very annoyed marksman. He had forgotten to return the man's Sedan and Barton wasn't willing to wait any longer. So Rafael quickly drove Barton's Sedan to the man's desired meeting point, and was followed by Steve (who had already learned to drive a car and obtained a legal license much to Rafael's surprise) driving Tony's Lamborghini Countach (seriously, does the man have only classic and expensive cars in his garage?)

He quickly met Barton at a nearby location and was on his way back when he received a call from JARVIS of all things. Putting the AI on loudspeaker he said "JARVIS, whats wrong?"

"Sir Mr. Stane had temporarily paralyzed Mr. Stark and stolen his arc reactor which he used to power his own version of your father's suit" said the AI "Mr. Stark is currently using the reactor he created while in captivity to fight Mr. Stane with his own suit. A fight that is currently not going well for him."

"Alright, where are they?"

"Sir they are currently battling over the factory in this city, though if this goes on for much longer it could spread to the surrounding areas."

"Understood, JARVIS, prepare a reactor for my father, use mine if you can't fabricate another" said Rafael before he disconnected the phone. He could barely restrain himself from cursing as he looked at Steve and asked "What do you think we should do."

"My shield is in the back of the car, along with two pairs of Beretta's and a tranquilizer gun" Steve said "Your house is too far from here for us to get you back and into your armor. Considering that your father is using a reactor that can be described as experimental at best, we must conclude that time is of the essence. Considering that Stane designed his armor for war, our weapons would be minor annoyances at best.

Rafael turned the steering wheel, adjusting their course for Stark industry's factory, before reaching into his pocket and removing several dark metallic disks and what looked like a toy buzzer saying "We also have these, the disks release an electric current with enough amps to render a person unconscious and the buzzer is a short range e.m.p. first try using the disk right over his reactor. If that doesn't work try to use the e.m.p. In either case you will need to be very close to him to have a chance of succeeding."

"And if those don't work?" asked Steve

"If their fighting on the roof of the factory, try to get him over the factories reactor. I could cause the entire thing to shoot all of its energy straight upwards"

"And if they're not."

"Then grab my father and run. His suit is possibly the only thing that can defeat Stane without resorting to any high powered missiles and he needs a reactor to properly use his suit." Answered Rafael as he pulled up right next to the entrance of the factory "Look sharp, we're here."

Steve immediately sprang out of the car as Rafael popped the hood and got out of the car just in time to catch the gun and the spare cartridge that were flung at him before saying "Steve, toss me the tranq gun as well, and make sure it's loaded."

"Why?" he asked confused. After all, what good would a dart do if bullets wouldn't be able to penetrate that armor.

"Knowing what I know of Stane, he will likely want to show my father his face before he kills him" Rafael replied as Steve loaded the tranquilizer "Arrogant, but perhaps we can use that against him."

The captain gave him a nod as handed the now loaded gun to his employer before he sprinted towards the steps, while Rafael, who had slung the tranquilizer gun across his back, tried and failed terribly to keep PACE with the enhanced Super Soldier.

Still he made it to the roof just in time to see the Captain grab onto Stane's armor from the back, and drop a widow bit into the… cockpit? The sudden electrical discharge knocked the clearly insane CEO out as well as shorting a lot of controls in that armor.

"Well that was anticlimactic" muttered Rafael as he ran towards Stane, Steve ran towards Tony who was holding on to the roof with his hands. Quickly reaching the downed CEO, he disconnected the reactor from his halfway fried suit and ran towards his father who was being helped out of his very badly dented armor by Rodgers "Here Dad, want me to help attach it to you…

"Nah, this reactor's still got some juice in it…" said Tony as he slowly got back up on his two feet, half covered with his armor "Your car's still here right?"

"Yes."

"Good" he said as he picked up his helmet and gauntlet, "Cause there gonna be a crowd of people heading here, and I want to be long gone before they arrive…"

* * *

 **I hope that all of you enjoyed the third chapter of White Knight...  
Happy New Year to all of you, and don't forget to review...**

 **Rafaelout out...**


	4. Chapter 4

**I** **have no claim whatsoever to any part of Marvel Studio's and/or the Avengers Franchise...**

* * *

Seventeen hours after the _incident_ at Stark Industries

* * *

"Been a while since I was up here in front of you. Maybe I'll do us all a favor and just stick to the cards" said Tony as he looked at the assembled mob of reporters "There's been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop..."

"Sorry, Mr Stark, do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you sorely despise bodyguards?"

"Yes."

"And this mysterious bodyguard was somehow equipped with an undisclosed Stark high-tech powered battle..."

"I know that it's confusing... It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I'm a superhero. I mean, let's face it, I'm not the heroic type..."

"Um, I never called you a hero"

"A laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public" continued Tony as if the reporter hadn't spoken that last line. He took a breath before he said the words that would have lasting effects, forever "The truth is I am Iron Man."

* * *

Five months and two weeks after that press conference

* * *

"Hello Mrs. Potts" said the voice of a young man as he walked and sat beside his father's personal assistant "I must say that you good today."

"Why thank you Mr. Stark" she responded before looking at the dancers on stage and the big screen that just started projecting an image of a plane. "Did you have any part in this?"

"Of course not Pepper, this was all him" he replied as he watched his father in his suit of armor free fall for a few moments before he used his repulsors to launch himself down to the stage. "You know he loves an entrance"

"And apparently so do they" she replied as they both listened to the crowd chant 'Tony! Tony! Tony! Tony!'

"It's good to be back." Tony said as he looked around at the assembled crowd "You missed me?"

Tony! Tony! Tony! Tony!

"I missed you too"

"Blow something up!" yelled someone in the crowd causing Rafael to snort 'Blow something up? Really? Tony had problems not blowing stuff up by accident. He didn't want his dad to start doing it on purpose.

Apparently Tony seemed to agree with his son's thoughts as he plainly said "Blow something up? I did that already"

A took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and spoke in the loud booming, slightly cocky voice that he was well known for "I'm not saying that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years because of me… I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a greater phoenix metaphor been personified in human history… I'm not saying that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping on an iced tea because I haven't come across anyone who's man enough to go toe-to-toe with me on my best day!"

"I love you, Tony!" yelled a woman in the crowd and Rafael noticed a slight clench in Peppers hands. He wondered for the first time, what it was like for her, seeing a man that she cared for sleep with one woman after another and wondered just what did his father do to deserve this kind of devotion.

"Please, it's not about me. It's not about you. It's not even about us. It's about legacy. It's about what we choose to leave behind for future generations. And that's why for the next year and for the first time since 1974, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations the world over will pool their resources, share their collective vision, to leave behind a brighter future. It's not about us. Therefore, what I'm saying, if I'm saying anything, is welcome back to the Stark Expo. And now, making a special guest appearance from the great beyond to tell you what it's all about, please welcome my father, Howard."

And with those Tony exited the stage and let a recording that his father made a long time ago, play.

"Everything is achievable through technology. Better living, robust health, and for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace. So, from all of us here at Stark lndustries, I would like to personally introduce you to the City of the Future. Technology holds infinite possibilities for mankind, and will one day rid society of all its ills. Soon, technology will affect the way you live your life every day. No more tedious work, leaving more time for leisure activities and enjoying the sweet life."

* * *

"Natasha" Rafael murmured as he noticed the redhead assassin who had been standing slightly behind him for, quite possibly, some time "How are you?"

"Good, you?"

"Great… I assume you are here for a reason."

"Indeed… I've been assigned to keep an eye on Tony Stark…" she said "I plan to get him to hire me as his personal assistant when he ultimately gives Pepper her promotion."

"SHIELD knows about that?" Rafael knew that already of course, his father had already approached him about taking over the company which he had refused on the grounds that he had too little experience and had suggested Pepper saying that he would take he place when she eventually stepped down.

"He wasn't exactly subtle when he was checking the legalities required" she said. Any outsider at that point would have considered that line as some kind of a jab against the current head of Stark Industries. After all, according to most of the world 'Stark' and 'Subtle' are two words that should never go together. But Rafael, Natasha and many of the high ranking SHIELD agents involved with Tony's case (though to be frank there weren't that many) knew different. The man could work completely in the shadows if he required it. He may not like it, but that certainly didn't mean that he wasn't extremely capable at it. Hacking multiple top secret agencies multiple times, and leaving no one the wiser was no simple feat after all.

"There wasn't any need to be" muttered Rafael as they stared at the subject of their talk as he walked over to his brand new car, flirting with the US Marshal that was leaning on it as she handed him, or rather Happy as Tony didn't like to be handed things, a summons from the Senate Armed Services Committee. He flicked out his phone and started typing out a text as he said "I could recommend you to my father, or most likely Pepper as her potential replacement."

"I've got it handled."

"I see… Did you even think about what I asked you?"

"You do realize that I am fifteen years older than you right."

"You've been with people who had a wider age gap than fifteen years Natasha" Technically there was only an age gap of three years between them, but its not like he could explain that without her ending up sending him to the mad house… Well not until Thor arrived at the very least.

"For missions, and none that I've had an emotional attachment to."

"So…" said Rafael as he sent the text he had been typing "Are you finally admitting that you have feelings for me.

"Hardly" came the emotionless response.

"You do realize that people like us have a short life expectancy right?" he said as he turned and looked her straight in the eye before deciding o throw her own words back at her… well she technically hadn't said those words yet, bit it was the thought that counted right "What's the point of life if you don't do whatever you want to do with whoever you wanted to do it with."

"So… you want to do _it_ " she said in a very suggestive voice

"That's not what I meant and you know it" he stated

"I do…" she said, her voice returning back to normal "But you're forgetting, your life expectancy is no longer the same as mine."

"Your right" he said as he looked in the direction that his father's car went "Between being a billionaire, the heir to a Fortune 500 Company, and a, well self professed Hero, my life expectancy is much shorter."

She didn't reply. He didn't expect her two… and then with some unseen signal, the two of them went their separate ways. The assassin disappeared into the shadows, the Stark heir went and joined his bodyguard who was waiting beside HIS brand new car.

Meanwhile, somewhere at least a dozen miles away, a billionaire smiled at the message his son sent him saying that he could race him to D.C. He quickly showed the message to his driver and suddenly they were going much faster than they were before.

* * *

"Mr Stark, could we pick up now where we left off?" said Senator Sterns as Tony was speaking to Pepper who was seated in the audience behind him "Mr Stark. Please."

"Yes, dear?"

"Can I have your attention?"

"Absolutely." He replied to the general laughter of everyone except for the senators he was facing, and his own flesh and blood who was sitting beside him.

"Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?"

"I do not." He replied "I do not."

"You do not?" the Senator replied sarcastically

"Well, it depends on how you define the word 'weapon'." Tony replied

"The Iron Man weapon." The Senator said, frustration seeping into his voice

"My device does not fit that description." He replied, as if describing weather and not a peace of technology that could revolutionize Warfare

"Well..." said Stern his frustration clear, though still willing to play this game if it got him what he wanted "How would you describe it?"

"I would describe it by defining it as what it is, Senator."

"As?"

"It's a high-tech prosthesis." He replied once a gain to general laughter

The senator looked flabbergast and couldn't help but stutter "That is... That is..."

"That's actually the most apt description he can make of it." Rafael, who was sitting next to his father added.

"It's a weapon." Said the senator sternly, in an attempt to assert the seriousness of this trial rather than the joke that Tony was turning it into "It's a weapon, Mr Stark…. er Mr Starks"

"Please" Rafael said seriously, knowing exactly who that man really worked for "If your priority was actually the well-being of the American citizen..."

"My priority" said Senator Stern in a loud voice, once again attempting to assert control "Is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people-of the United States of America."

"Well, you can forget it" said Rafael

"We are the Iron Men, our suits and ourselves our one and the same." Tony said "To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over ourselves, which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution, depending on what state you're in."

"Look, its quite simple" added Rafael "You Can't Have It!"

"Look" the senator tried to say "I'm no expert..."

"In prostitution? Of course not" exclaimed Tony "You're a senator. Come On."

"I'm no expert in weapons" Stern said "But we do have somebody here who is an expert on weapons. I'd now like to call Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor."

"Really?" muttered Rafael as his father shot him a grin before speaking into the microphone saying "Let the record reflect that I observed Mr Hammer entering the chamber, and I am wondering if and when any actual expert will also be in attendance."

"Absolutely" said Mr Hammer and at that point Rafael had to wonder if he even understood the implied insult "I'm no expert, I defer to you, Anthony. You're the wonder boy. Senator, if I may. I may well not be an expert, but you know who was THE expert? Your dad! Howard Stark. Really a father to us all and to the military-industrial age, now let's just be was no flower child. He was a lion… We all know why we're here. Six months ago, Anthony Stark has created a sword with untold possibilities. And yet he insists it's a shield. He asks us to trust him as we cower behind it... I wish I were comforted, Anthony, I really do. I'd love to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house, but this ain't Canada. You know, we live in a world of grave threats, threats that Mr Stark will not always be able to foresee… Thank you. God bless Iron Man. God bless America.

"That is well said, Mr Hammer" said Stern, happy that at last, something seemed to be going his way "The committee would now like to invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber."

"Rhodey? What?" said Tony, caught completely flat-footed as the last person he expected to see Stern call upon walk, though those doors. He got up and walked straight to the Colonel, and said in a pseudo-friendly tone "Hey, buddy. I didn't expect to see you here."

"Look" Rhodey replied "it's me, I'm here. Deal with it. Let's move on."

"I just..."

"Drop it!"

"All right" said Tony, raising his hands in defense "I'll drop it."

The two men walked to the front of the court and took their respective seats, Antony where he was seated earlier, Rhodey, neat to Justin Hammer, though not before he noticed the death-glare his best friends recently found son shot him.

"I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon, compiled by Colonel Rhodes" said the Senator "And, Colonel, for the record, can you please read page 57, paragraph four?"

"You're requesting that I read specific selections -from my report, Senator?" asked Rhodes in a slightly disapproving voice

"Yes, sir.

It was my understanding that I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manner."

"l understand that" the senator said, trying to placate the man and get the hearing back on track "A lot of things have changed today. -So if you could just read..."

"You do understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect -the summary of my final..."

"Just read it, Colonel. I do. Thank you."

"Very well" said the good Colonel, disapproval clear in his voice "As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, 'Iron Man presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation, and to her interests.' I did, however, go on to summaries that the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh the liabilities, and that it would be in our interest..."

"That's enough, Colonel" said the Senator, trying to prevent another part of this trial from going Starks way

"...to fold Mr Stark..."

"That's enough!"

"...into the existing chain of command" finished Rhodey in a slightly louder and much more firm voice than he used before "Senator."

The contempt in that last word was clear

"I'm not a joiner, but I'll consider Secretary of Defense, IF you ask nice." Stated Tony, once more drawing laughter from the crowd "We can amend the hours a little bit."

"I'd like to go on and show," said the Stern "if I may, the imagery that's connected to your report."

"I believe it is somewhat premature to reveal these images -to the general public at this time." said Rhodey, wondering what exactly this man was trying to pull, before almost immediately realizing the obvious answer "With all due respect,"

"Colonel, I understand. And if you could just narrate those for us, we'd be very grateful. Let's have the images."

"Very well" said the Colonel "Intelligence suggests that the devices seen in these photos are, in fact, attempts at making manned copies of Mr Stark's suit. This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground, indicating that these suits are quite possibly, at this moment, operational."

"Hold on one second, buddy" Tony said as he used JARVIS to simultaneously hack the screens in the courtroom as well as locate the places where these images were taken and hack their footage "Let me see something here. Boy, I'm good. I commandeered your screens. I need them. Time for a little transparency… Now, let's see what's really going on."

"What is he doing?" Rafael heard someone mutter in the crowd, much to his bemusement as what his father was doing was quite plain to everyone.

"If you will direct your attention to said screens..." the man in question said "l believe that's North Korea."

"They watch a giant armored robot with multiple machine guns fall on its back and begin to shoot everyone in sight.

"Can you turn that off?" said Senator Stern, trying to shut down the monitors to both stop the public from viewing any more disturbing images as he was trying to stop Stark from completely shredding the very reason he was legally trying to use to confiscate the armor "Turn that off Now."

"Iran"

They watched some weird bot thing fly a bunch of chaotic circles before crashing into the ground

"No grave immediate threat here" the senior Stark said, almost enjoying the entertainment that he was broadcasting to the court "Is that Justin Hammer? How did Hammer get in the game? Justin, you're on TV. Focus up!"

"Okay, give me a left twist. Left's good. Turn to the right."

The robot's torso did a complete one eighty and got stuck in that position

"Oh, God, OH GOD!" yelled video Justin as he started to panic"

"Wow. Yeah, I'd say most countries, five, 10 years away. Hammer Industries, 20!" stated Tony firmly.

"I'd like to point out that that test pilot survived" said Justin.

"That test pilot shouldn't have even been inside that death trap" said Rafael angrily "There are rules and regulations when designing armor Justin! Rules which you blatantly ignored when you designed that thing in your desire to make a quick buck and your obsession to stick it to my dad. And now a man is going to live his life being paralyzed below the waste. If I could sue you for violation of those rules I would but I can't as those are general rules for design and have no legal bearings inside a court."

"I… I… I…" stuttered Justin

"l think we're done, is the point that he's making" stated Tony, all playfulness gone from his voice. It was one thing to make a mockery of these idiots in front of him, it was quite another to leave a man paralyzed for life… He made a mental note to see if there was anything he could do for the test pilot... as well as for the other people who were wounded as they attempted to make mad copies of his suit, and for the families of those who had died trying.

"I don't think there's any reason..." Sterns started to say, trying once again to regain order in his court.

"The point is, well to you anyway" said Rafael "Is that you're welcome."

"For what?" asked the Senator

"Because we're your nuclear deterrents. America is safe. You want my property?You can't have I did you a big favor, I've successfully privatized world peace" said Tony as he stood up and spoke out loud to the crowd "What more do you want? For now! I tried to play ball with these ass-clowns."

"**** you, Mr Stark" said Stern, loosing all composure as he began cursing the man in front of him "**** you, buddy… We're adjourned. We're adjourned for today."

"Good." Said Rafael as he too stood up

"You've been a delight" said Tony to the camera which was broadcasting this case to the entire country "My bond is with the people, and I will serve this great nation at the pleasure of myself. If there's one thing I've proven it's that you can count on me to pleasure myself."

"And Guys" Rafael added, getting the camera to focus on him "The Iron Man, that's my dad. Call me the Knight people!"

* * *

"Wake up. Daddy's home" said Tony as he and his son entered the lab

"Welcome home, sir." came JARVIS's automated voice "Congratulations on the opening ceremonies. They were such a success, as was your Senate hearing. And may I say how refreshing it is to finally see you in a video with your clothing on, sir."

Rafael couldn't help but burst into snickers at that.

"Yeah, yeah laugh it up" said Tony "Wait till it's your turn and then we'll talk."

Rafael opened his mouth to respond, but before he could utter a single he was interrupted by the loud sound of a mixer. A quick glance told him that 'Dummy' the robotic hand was at it again

"You!" said Tony "I swear to God I'll dismantle you. I'll soak your motherboard. I'll turn you into a wine rack."

"Hey" Rafael said "Leave the poor robotic hand… thing? Alone! He's only making you what you need to counteract the symptoms."

"True enough" said Tony as he took the glass of green goop that Dummy handed him, took one sip and blanched "How many ounces a day of this gobbledegookam I supposed to drink?"

"We are up to 80 ounces a day to counteract the symptoms, sir." Came the sound of Jarvis's automated voice

"Check palladium levels." Rafael said

"Blood toxicity, 24%." Jarvis replied as Tony took of the shirt he was wearing and started to disconnect the core "It appears that the continued use of the Iron Man suit is accelerating your condition. Another core has been depleted."

"God, they're running out quick." Rafael murmured as Tony replaced the core of his reactor once again.

"I have run simulations on every known element, and none can serve as a viable replacement for the palladium core. You are running out of both time and options. Unfortunately, the device that's keeping you alive is also killing you. Miss Potts is approaching. -I recommend that you inform her..."

"Mute."

"Is this a joke?" said Pepper, sounding both stern and angry "What are you thinking?"

"What?" asked Tony, sounding surprised… though both of the other people in the room knew that he was not, and this only served to infuriate Pepper more.

"What are you thinking?" she said

"Hey, I'm thinking I'm busy. And you're angry about something" Tony replied and "Do you have the sniffles? I don't wanna get sick."

"Did you just donate our entire modern art collection to the..."

"Boy Scouts of America." said Tony in a bland tone

"...Boy Scouts of America?" Pepper repeated in much more harsher and angrier voice

"Yes. It is a worthwhile organization. I didn't physically check the crates but, basically, yes. And it's not "our" collection, it's my collection. No offense."

"No, you know what? I think I'm actually entitled to say "our" collection considering the time that I put in, over 10 years, curating that."

Rafael would have usually voiced his opinion here, which would be in favor of what his father said, but he didn't because honestly, Tony needed to be fired.

"It was a tax write-off. I needed that."

"You know, there's only about 801 things that I really need to talk to you about." Pepper said "For starters, the Expo is a gigantic waste of time."

"There's nothing more important to me than the Expo. It's my primary point of concern." Tony replied "I don't know why you're..."

"The Expo is your ego gone crazy." said Pepper and Rafael couldn't help but snort causing both of them to look at him, Pepper in surprise because she honestly didn't know that he was there, and Tony with a betrayed look.

"Hey, don't give me that look" Rafael said in protest to his dad's look "she's right you know"

Pepper shook he head, trying to get back on track "This is vital Tony. Stark is in complete disarray, do you understand that?"

"No. Our stocks have never been higher."

"Yes, from a managerial standpoint." She replied "You are..."

"Dad quit stalling" Rafael said interrupting her "and just do it"

"Do what?" asked Pepper wondering what her boss's son meant.

"Excellent idea" said Tony "Pepper, why do you run the company."

"Yeah, I'm trying to run the company."

"Pepper, I need you to run the company."

"Well, stop trying to do it and do it."

"You will not -give me the information..."

"I'm not asking you to try... -...in order to..."

"I'm asking you to physically do it. I need you to do it."

"I am trying to do it."

"Gods this is a soap opera" muttered Rafael as went to get a bottle of champagne and a couple of glasses.

"Pepper, you're not listening to me!" said Tony firmly "I'm trying to make you CEO. Why won't you let me?"

Pepper stopped speaking, completely and utterly stunned, and then she s said the only thing that came to her mind "Have you been drinking?"

"Chlorophyll" muttered Tony offhandedly before getting back to the task at hand "I hereby irrevocably appoint you chairman and CEO of Stark Industries, effective immediately… And before you say anything you should know that I've actually given this a fair amount of thought, believe it or a bit of headhunting, so to speak,trying to figure out who a worthy successor would be. And then I realized it's you. It's always been you. I thought there'd be a legal issue, but actually I'm capable of appointing my successor and my successor is you. So Congratulations.

"But…" stuttered Pepper "But Rafael…"

"Is more suited towards espionage than running a company, especially a Fortune 500 company" said the man himself as he walked to them with three glasses of champagne "Dad and I spoke about this for a while and we both agree that you would be the best person to take the reigns. Maybe after a couple dozen years when you're ready to retire I'll become CEO, but until then the office is yours. Congratulations Pepper."

"I don't know what to think" blabbed Pepper as she took the glass that he offered her

"Don't think" said Tony with a smirk as he raised his own glass "Drink."

* * *

"The notary's here! Can you please come sign the transfer paperwork?" said Pepper as she entered Tony's exercise room, which was more like a posh living room combined with a gym

"I'm on Happy time." The man replied as he and his bodyguard traded blows

"I promise you this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company" she replied as the notary entered the room and walked straight over too her. Rafael's eyes widened as he looked at the ravishing redhead who he would recognize anywhere and muttered to himself "So that's how she's gonna get his attention."

"I need you to initial each box" Natasha Romanoff said as she handed Pepper a clipboard.

It was quite plainly apparent that Rafael's eyes weren't the only one's who was following the SHIELD agent, as Tony had given up all pretext of sparring with Happy and had taking to gazing at the 'notary'.

Happy though wasn't too happy about the change in focus as he approached his boss saying "Lesson one. Never take your eye off..."

Before he could even get close enough to land a blow Tony launched a vicious back kick, sending Happy in the corner before quickly closing the distance between them and giving him a dozen powerful blows to the torso.

"That's it. I'm done." Tony said as he picked up a water bottle "What's your name, lady?"

"Rushman" said Natasha, causing Rafael to raise his eyebrow as that was one of her better known aliases "Natalie Rushman."

"Front and center. Come into the church." Tony said, indicating the ring

"No" said Pepper exasperated "You're seriously not gonna ask..."

"If it pleases the court, which it does."

"It's no problem" said Natasha, and Rafael couldn't help but grin. She was playing her role perfectly while at the same time giving that little bit of sexy. Rafael never thought he would see the day when his father was manipulated considering all of his quirks and his complete unpredictability, but Natasha seemed to be doing just that…

"I'm sorry" said Pepper, apologizing for her boss… er former boss? "He's very eccentric."

Rafael watched Tony grin at Natasha as she entered the ring under the second rope. It was a grin he knew all to well, and suddenly he wasn't sure if Natasha was playing him anymore. He knew that she wanted the job, likely from the moment she agreed to his request.

At that moment he understood what he was seeing. Natasha and Antony were both masters at getting what they wanted, and they could clearly see what the other wanted as they tried to play each other to get what they wanted. It was that moment when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, except it was infinitely more subtle. Every single subtle seductive move that Natasha made and every single eccentric move that Tony made were attempts to gauge one another to see how far they needed to go to get what they wanted. Except the ball was totally in Tony's court and they both knew it.

"Pepper" said Tony as he backed away from the redhead, and sat down next to his former personal assistant and soon to be boss "Who is she?"

"She is from legal." Came her reply "And she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her like that."

Rafael nearly snorted when he heard that last line, not really surprised that Pepper really couldn't see the dance that had just played out before her, few could... Even if Natasha wasn't a SHIELD agent there wouldn't be a lawsuit, as there was no way anyone would file a court case after a dance like that, unless there were really desperate that it. That, and his father was not ogling her… well not just ogling her as Natasha was a serious piece of eye candy, something that she herself knew and constantly used to her advantage.

"I need a new assistant, boss." Said Tony

"Yes, and I've got three excellent potential candidates" Pepper replied patiently "They're lined up and ready to meet you."

"I don't have time to meet. I need someone now. I feel like it's her."

"No, it's not."

Rafael turned his attention back to the match, while still keeping an ear on Pepper and Tony, knowing Happy, he was going to say something and then she would destroy him.

"You ever boxed before?" he asked her

"I have, yes" she replied evenly

"What, like, the Tae Bo? Booty Boot Camp?Crunch? Something like that?" Happy joked and Rafael noticed Natasha's lips narrow a little, a clear sign of danger if there ever was one for the infamous Black Widow

"More like Jiu-Jitsu, Krav Maga, Keysi and a dozen similar styles Happy" Rafael said loudly "Take this seriously or your pride might not be the only thing she ends up breaking."

There was silence after that statement as everyone other than the speaker and the subject of that statement stared at Natasha in shock. Finally Tony decided to break the ice and ask "You two know each other?"

"Yup" replied Rafael. He officially knew several of her aliases and the Rushman aliases was the one that had the most official meetings with him.

"Ook..." said Tony, wondering how exactly his son and his soon-to-be assistant knew each other, but decided he could find out for himself later and so he instead asked "How do I spell your name, Natalie?"

"R-U-S-H-M-A-N" she stated and Tony immediately started tapping away on his tablet.

"What" said Pepper "Are you gonna Google her now?

"I thought I was ogling her" Tony replied, throwing her own words back at her "Wow. Very, very impressive individual."

"You're so predictable, you know that?" said Pepper exasperated

"She's fluent in French, Italian, Russian, Latin" continued Tony as if Pepper hadn't spoken "Who speaks Latin?"

"No one speaks Latin Tony" Pepper replied as if she was speaking to a child "It's a dead language. You can read Latin or you can write Latin, but you can't speak Latin..."

"I can, and so can she" Rafael said loudly, drawing their attention back to him "And you won't believe how useful it is"

"You'll have to teach me then" Tony replied as he looked up several images of her in Google and said to Pepper "Did you model in Tokyo? Cause she modeled in Tokyo."

"Well..."

"I need her. She's got everything that I need."

"Rule number one," said Happy as he threw a right hook at Natasha, tired of being ignored "Never take your eye off…."

He didn't finish his sentence as Natasha easily grabbed his hand and flipped him down on his back, with his hand in a vicious hold.

"Oh, my God!" exclaimed Pepper, completely shocked by the sudden violence "Happy…!"

"I did warn you" Rafael said with an amused smirk on his face as Natasha released her hold and got down from the ring

"I just slipped." He protested weakly

"You did?" asked Tony sarcastically "Because it looks like a TKO to me."

"Mr. Stark" she said as she approached him with the clipboard "I need your fingerprint."

"Right" said the man as he placed the impression of his fingerprint of the contract, which now meant that Pepper was now the new CEO of stark industries.

"So" said the woman herself as she and Rafael approached Tony and Natasha "How are we doing?"

"Great, just wrapping up" Tony responded as he kissed her on the cheek "Hey Peps, you're now officially the boss."

Natasha smirked at the couple as she asked "Will that be all, Mr Stark?"

"Yes" said Pepper "That will be all, Ms. Rushman."

"Hey Nat, If you're looking for a job my dad needs a new assistant" said Rafael causing Pepper to throw him a look "I know your overqualified, but it's a better than working as a notary, what do you say?"

She smirked at him and said "You just want some part of your old life around this place don't you?"

"Can you blame me?"

"Nope" she replied with a cheerful voice, all traces of professionalism gone "Besides I need a new sparring partner, my current ones are well…"

"Too predictable?"

"Oh you have no idea…!" she said before looking at his father and Pepper "Mr. Stark, if I get a reasonable contract that you can be sure that I will be taking it… You can be sure that your son's spars with me will only happen during my time off. I can assure you that I will be professional while on the clock. Good day, Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts… Rafael"

And with those words she turned around and walked away. Pepper waited until she was gone before rounding on her former boss's son. But before she could even berate him, he quickly tried to placate her saying "Pepper, that woman is one of my oldest friends, well oldest living friends at any rate. She is also easily overqualified for this job. She is highly intelligent, resourceful, professional when required and she can easily take care of herself, in fact she could probably defend Happy and my Dad from an attack better than me in my suit and the only reason she is not working very successfully the security sector is out of personal preference. I have seen your candidates and she is certainly more qualified then them and as for trustworthy, I would trust her with my life. I have in fact done so on more than one occasion."

At their looks he added "It comes with living the life I have had to live… Besides it's not you're your preference, personal and professional, that counts when hiring my dad's assistant, it's his and only his…."

"I see…" said Pepper, looking slightly mollified, she didn't want to hire Natalie because they knew literally nothing about her besides the brief search they did on Google, but if Rafael was willing to vouch for her that much… well she didn't have any more problems besides that slight tug of jealously in her chest which she ruthlessly squashed. She was professional if nothing else. "I now have a company to run so I'll see you two later ok"

And with that sentence she walked out the room.

* * *

"Mr Stark?" said Natalie Rushman, the new personal assistant of the Billionaire Tony Stark "How was your flight?"

"Hey Natalie, it was excellent" he replied "And must say that it's nice to see you."

"We have one photographer from the ACM, if you don't mind." She said as she smoothly stepped out of the way allowing the photographer to take a couple of shots "Right this way please."

She walked beside Tony, directing him to a table as he said "You look fantastic."

"Why, thank you very much."

"But that's unprofessional. What's on the docket?"

"You have a 9:30 dinner."

"Perfect. I'll be there at 11 :00." As he stopped by a table facing the window as Natalie nodded her head in agreement as she made a small change in his schedule on her Smartphone, he looked at her and asked "Is this us?"

"It can be."

"Great" Tony replied " Make it us."

"Okay."

Pepper wasn't idle during that time as she had been speaking to the people present, who had been congratulating her on her promotion, before finally coming to her stop next to her former boss and greeting a very familiar patron "Mr Musk. How are you?"

"Hi, Pepper" he said "Congratulations on the promotion."

"Thank you very much."

"Elon" said Tony, noticing and recognizing the man from his days as CEO "How's it going? Those Merlin engines are fantastic."

"Thank you" he said with a smile "And listen Tony, I've got an idea for an electric jet."

"You do?"asked Tony rhetorically "Then we'll make it work."

"Do you think that they will?" asked Steve from where he was seated with his boss. Not even remotely proper, but with a little make up here and there – and a wig – they were practically unrecognizable.

"If it was anyone else no, but Mr. Musk is one of ten people to have been granted V.I.P status in Stark industries, not to mention that my dad likes him. So yes, I think that they will make it work." Rafael replied as he got up from his seat "Walk with me Steve."

The man out of time followed his boss outside the dining hall and once Rafael was sure that they were in relative security he said "Two things, firstly take of that wig Steve, you look ridiculous. Secondly did my Grandfather ever mention the name Anton Vanko to you?

"No, he did not" replied Captain Rogers as he took of his wig, though in his opinion he didn't look silly at all, rather he thought it was a very effective disguise "I am assuming that he is a threat?"

"Not directly" Rafael said "Anton Vanko is one of three people who could build the same kind of arc reactor that my dad built. Fortunately for us, he is dead. Unfortunately, he has a son who was born in a very violent environment, is so brilliant an engineer that he too can build an ark reactor with nothing but his fathers rusty knowledge to guide him, and possesses a measure of hate for anyone named Stark that borders on fanatic."

"I see" said Steve "And I'm assuming that you're expecting trouble from him, most likely today?"

"Yes, either during the race or in the coming days of the Stark Expo" Rafael replied "I need you to keep your eyes peeled Steve. Knowing what I know he wouldn't have sold his reactor designs to anyone… no he would first make a stand against my father and I before waiting for potential buyers to get him out of whatever prison he is chucked in."

"Your orders" he asked

"I need you to remove him as soon as possible, preferably the moment he show's his face" said Rafael "Whether you incapacitate or kill is up to you and the situation at the time, I really do not care either way. Just remember two things. The first is that he will be definitely armed with some kind of deathly reactor based weapons, most likely electric whips… also remember that every moment he spends conscious after revealing himself is a moment too long."

"Understood" Steve replied, before his eyes caught a seen that was playing out on a big screen T.V. "Sir… did you know about this?"

Rafael looked at the screen where he could clearly see his father heading for the race car… even from the angle he was he could clearly read Tony's lips, well somewhat – 'Well what's use… having… owning a race car… if you don't drive it?'

"I suspected he would do something, I didn't think it'd be this brazen though" muttered Rafael as he stared at the screen "Rogers get me my case."

"Yes Sir"

* * *

Rafael easily spotted Ivan Vanko who he was sure would be hear (the man was walking in the middle of the race track, it was difficult to NOT spot him) and with a quick burst of energy from his repulsors, he shot forward and tackled the man. All those watching saw the 'Knight' remove some lunatic from the racetrack, what everyone didn't see was the little red beam that came out of Rafael's metallic gauntlet. He had managed to recover that thing that Stane had used to paralyze his father and had made use of it in his own armor. With a slight, almost unseen motion of the hand he was using to hold Vanko's chest, he disconnected Vanko's reactor and crushed it, reminiscent of how his father would have done if he hadn't existed in this world.

He quickly dropped Vanko of to the nearest security force before landing next to Steve, Happy, Natasha and a furious looking Pepper Potts, got out of his armor, and decided to watch the show before informing his father about Vanko and his reactor. After all, watching Pepper take strips out of Tony is really truly amusing.

* * *

 **Hey guys, I hope that all of you enjoyed the fourth chapter of White Knight...  
Technically speaking its a good portion of the second Iron Man movie with a few personal touches thrown in. I couldn't really change much...  
well not unless I wanted to totally change the events that are happening. Remember things turned out more or less fine in the marvel movies and my character who knows that very well doesn't want to change things too much and risk creating some sort of unforeseen disaster...  
**

* * *

 **Now on to reviews...**

 **NecrorexSparda Juubi-No-Kishin - I actually have a different major power in mind for him, though depending o how the story flows i may deside against actually giving it against him... well I guess what I am really saying is that we'll see... Thanks for the advice though...**

 **DarkDust27 - You are most welcome, I hope you like this chapter and continue reading future chapters...**

 **HPMarvel - That is actually what I am trying to make it, though with the current Natasha/Bruce parng that the movies have going on, we'll have to see how things flow, I'll have to watch the infinity wars before I decide the pairings to see how they may affect the story...**

 **SkittlezxBabex146 - I thought so too... unlike an unknown SI, the S.H.I.E.L.D SI or even an Asguardian SI, the** **possibilities of what a Stark SI could do are endless... and considering just how much the Stark Family and the industries are intertwined with the Avengers, it's actually a whole lot easier to keep things centered on the Avengers themselves, instead of going off on a whole other tangent.**

 **Aiphira - there will be more, I promise you that**

 **Rangle - Three things really, first I thank you for your complement and I have to admit that the HP: Reloaded story-line isn't very well thought out... actually it isn't thought out at all. I just sit down and type the a chapter all in one go and then publish it, not caring about the effect it may have, so I hope you really don't mind... Secondly the story is going to feature mainly Harry and not the SI, it just seems that i'm featuring myself now because truth be told my character is about as useful as a first grader in a war, and Harry wants to train him to the point that he can go out and not get himself offed in a moment of carelessness... or worse spill secrets about younger Potter and his plans...**

* * *

 **Wow its so much easier to reply here than it is to reply on my Harry Potter Story... Partially because there are so few reviews and mostly because at least half** **of the reviews are not veiled or outright insults to what I have written... Constructive Criticism i one thing... that is another...**

* * *

 **Once Again I hope you guys and girls have enjoyed this chapter,**

 **Rafaelout out**


	5. Chapter 5

**I** **have absolutely no claim whatsoever to any part of Marvel Studio's and/or the Avengers Franchise...  
**

* * *

Rafael, Pepper, Natasha and Steve watched a news report that stated Senator Sterns views that he Tony should simply give up the armor. And then gave a long winded speech detailing Tony's track record and the reasons why he should.

"That man" muttered Rafael, "Will he ever let that go?"

"I doubt it" said a new voice that caused all of them to turn around and look at Tony who was holding a plate with some kind of an omelet on it "That being said, he should be giving me a 's the truth."

"And I have no doubt that someday you will make him do just that" said Rafael "for now though the company needs to respond, Natalie?"

"I'll draft up a suitable response and then show it to Ms. Potts for her approval" Natasha said as she got up and walked out of the cabin.

"What is that?" asked Pepper staring at the – thing for lack of a better term, on Tony's plate

"This" said Tony with his usual cocky grin "Is your in-flight meal."

"Did you just make that?"

"Yeah, where do you think I've beenfor three hours?"

Rafael nearly snorted, considering he could easily imagine over a hundred things he could be doing for three hours.

"Tony" said Pepper, instantly understanding there was something wrong"what are you not telling me?"

"I don't want to go home. At all" he said "Let's cancel my birthday party and let's go to Venice, Cipriani – just the two of us, together –do you remember that place?"

"Oh, yes" she said. She did remember it, very _very_ well. "I don't think this is the right 're in kind of a mess."

"Yeah, but maybe that's whyit's the best time" he argued "Cause then we..."

"Well, I think as the CEO,I need to show up."

"As CEO, you are entitled to a leave."

"Leave?"

"A company retreat."

"A retreat?" repeated Pepper incredulously "During a time like this?

"It'll be just a ride" said Tony, now knowing that what he was suggesting would certainly be rejected "Well, I'm just saying, to rechargeour batteries and figure it all out."

"Not everybody runs on batteries, Tony."

And that firmly brought an end to that apartment.

"Query complete, sir" came JARVIS's automated voice from inside the Stark Malibu house "Anton Vanko was a Soviet physicistwho defected to the United Statesin , he was accused of espionageand was deported in son, Ivan, who is also a physicist,was convicted of selling Soviet-eraweapons-grade plutonium to Pakistan,and served 15 years in Kopeisk prison. No further records exist."

"Dig deeper JARVIS" said Rafael, "Now that you've got a basic history start looking into the realm of the possibility. We need to get everything we can on them. And also take a peek at the relation between Anton Vanco"

"Understood sir."

"Tony you in here" said Tony's best friend and military contact as he entered the lab "Tony look, you gotta get upstairs and get on top of this situation right now. Listen. I've been on the phone with the National Guard all day, trying to talk them outof rolling tanks up the PCH, knocking down your front door and taking these. They're gonna take your suits."

"What, why?" asked Rafael in surprise

"They're sick of the games. You said nobody else would possess this technology for 20 , guess what? Somebody else had it yesterday. It's not theoretical anymore."

"And how do you know that?" asked Rafael stunned. He had stripped Vanko of his reactor and destroyed the damm thing.

"That harness that Vanko was wearing. Hammer had his techs take a look at it and they confirmed that it was designed to be powered by an arc reactor."

"Damm it" muttered Rafael, he was hoping to avoid this mess, now that idiot had given Vanko all that he needed to create an entire squad of droids as well as a super powered weapon. "Where is Vanko?"

"Apparently he was killed in an attempt to break him out of jail" Rhodes replied.

"Did you actually see his body?"

"Well no it was blown up" he replied, as he turned to look at his best friend who hadn't spoken a word till now, something that was extremely unlike him "Hey Tony, Are you listening to me?-Are you okay?"

Tony didn't say anything as he disconnected the reactor from his chest, not needing to take off his shirt as it was specially tailored to display the reactor, and replaced the completely charred palladium core from the reactor with a brand new one, before shoving the reactor back into his chest.

"Is that supposed to be smoking?" he asked in obvious concern before spotting what could be best described as a gray outline of what looked like building blocks on his neck"And how about the high-tech crossword puzzle on your neck?"

"If you must know, the core's charged because of its neutron damage from the reactor wall" said Tony "and the puzzle as you call it, is road rash."

If the situation at hand wasn't so serious, Rafael would have snorted, but between the possibility of Vanko building a drone army in that idiot Hammer's warehouse and his father dying, Rafael really didn't see any place for humor. Rhodes though, couldn't help but stare at Tony

"What are you looking at?"

"I'm looking at you" he said "You two wanna do this whole lone gunslinger actand it's unnecessary. Neither of you have to do this alone."

"You know, I wish I could believe that. I really do. But you've gotta trust me" said Tony "Contrary to popular belief, I – no we know exactly what we're doing."

"But your right" Rafael said causing the colonel to look straight at him "JARVIS!"

He didn't need to say anything else as he knew that the AI knew what he wanted. Sure enough the two of the older model suits that his father had on display moved to the side, revealing a much more – warlike – version of the armor, that was completely silver, had more armor than both his and his father's suits combined and had a minigun attached to its right shoulder.

"The fists, in addition to their repulsors, have their own inbuilt custom FN-2000with about ten times more ammunition than normal, they also have their own inbuilt grenade launcher, the Milkor 40mm to be precise, which is the latest in the market" Rafael said as he walked to the armor before tapping the minigun and continued "the M1 34 7.62 Minigun, with Six individual barrels. The torso also comes with two in built mini-missiles that if used correctly could take down a bunker. Last but not the least there is a 9mm Claridge Hi-Tec, semi-automaticpistol hidden in each of your thigh plates. They are meant for the very rare event in which you run out of ammo, or the more likely event in which you will need to arm someone else. In addition, your armor also comes with its own custom built AI to help you pilot it and utilize all of its functions. It's not even as remotely advanced as JARVIS, but then again nothing can come close to JARVIS – Also that armor is registered to your bio-signature so that it keyed to you. My father and JARVIS may be able to deactivate it but only you can use it."

Rafael turned to look at the two stunned men and then there was silence for a couple of seconds, a rarity in the Stark household save for the privacy of Rafael's own room, before Tony asked "Um, no offence but I think you need to get a better hobby Rafa…"

Rafael snorted as he faced Rhodes and said "Your right colonel, while we are able to handle things by ourselves for the moment, there will come a time when we will either not be there, or when we will need help. This armor is meant for that time, and I trust in your judgment and your honor enough to know that you will only use it when that time comes."

Colonel James Rhodes looked at the armor – his armor, completely, absolutely stunned. He did not expect this at all. He leaned back against a desk that was behind him before slowly, but surely a grin took over his face as he said "Rafael, Tony, I'm – I'm stunned that you would gift me…"

"It's not a gift" said Rafael, interrupting him "It's a responsibility – do you think you're up for it?"

"Oh, yeah!"

* * *

"Do you know which watch you'd like to wear tonight, Mr Stark?" asked Natasha

"I'll give them a look.I should cancel the party." Muttered Tony as he adjusted his shirt "Cause it's... well its ill-timed right? Sends the wrong message, inappropriate, but… Where are you from?"

"Legal."

"Please don't lie to me, I would have known if one of my son's friends was in legal"

"Well… how I got into legal" said Natasha very slowly "Wasn't exactly legal…"

Tony smirked "Still, how exactly did you two become friends…? Actually, before that can you tell me – well – If this was your last birthday party you were ever gonna have, how would you celebrate it?

"I'd do whatever I wanted to do" said Natasha, thinking of what Rafael had said to her, as she slowly, seductively, approached her employer"With whoever I wanted to do it with."

"Copying me Nat?" said Rafael with an amused tone as he entered the room "I didn't think you were such a copycat."

"I'm a lot of things as you should very well know" she replied as she took a step back from where she'd been standing, which was quite close to Tony "I thought you said that you had some business to take care of before the party Mr. Stark."

"There's actually not going to be a party seeing as I've cancelled it." Said Rafael "Instead you are going to have a nice romantic date with Pepper in our dining room, after you meet someone who's downstairs waiting for you"

"Who's that?" asked Tony as he put on his watch and looked at himself in the mirror one last time.

"Come and see" said Rafael as he walked down the stairs. Tony, being the ever curious person he was, quickly followed with Natasha a step behind him. When they finally got to the living room, the last person that Tony expected to see was waiting there with a grin.

Actually scratch that, the last person he expected to see was Senator Sterns, the person who he did not expect at ALL was the person standing in his room, a person who just so happened to be the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"I thought I told you" said Tony with a loud voice as he walked straight towards Nick Fury"I don't wanna join your super-secret boy band."

"No, no, no" Fury said with a voice that sounded very amused"See, I remember, you do everything yourself. How's that working out for you?"

"It's... It's... It's..." Tony started to say as he stood right in front of the man, and reached a dilemma that only he could have"I'm sorry, I don't think that I asked you this the last time andI don't wanna get off on the wrong foot. Do I look at the patch or the eye? And honestly I'm not sure if you're real or if I'm being pranked..."

"I am very real,I'm the realest person you're ever gonna meet" said Fury with emphasis on each syllable, before he looked at what Rhodey had spotted earlier, Tony's high tech crossword puzzle on his neck "That's not looking so good."

"I've been worse" Tony muttered and Rafael couldn't help but grin, he could truly believe that.

Of course it was at that moment when the ever reliable Mr. Coulson came walking in saying "We've secured the perimeter director, and I think you should tell them, they need to know."

"Know? Know what?" asked Tony as Fury's eye flickered to Rafael (an action that Tony did not miss) before it looked back at the former CEO, and then at someone behind him. And then Natasha moved forward and stood right next to Fury before spinning around on her heel and looking at the smirk that Fury was wearing and the way she was standing beside him told Tony all he needed to know. "You're fired."

"That's not up to you." She replied, and Rafael could easily hear the smirk in her voice, which in hindsight was not actually so surprising, he knew that she'd been looking for a way to one up Tony after all.

"Tony, I want you to meet Agent Romanoff" said Fury with a grin "She's a S.H.I.E.L.D. shadow. Once we knew you were ill, she was tasked to watch over you on my direct orders, and I have to say that her reports are well… Well suffice to say you've been very busy. You made your girl your CEO, you're giving away all your stuff, drawing up an ironclad will and letting your son make your friend a custom version of your suit. Now, if I didn't know better..."

"What do you want from me?" asked Tony deciding that it was best to cut straight to the chase.

"What do we want from you?" Fury repeated "You Mr. have become a problem, a problem I have to deal with. Contrary to your belief, you are not the center of my universe. I have bigger problems than you in the southwest region to deal with. Hit him."

Natasha who had subtly moved right in between the two men suddenly pushed a needle straight into Tony neck and pressed, pushing all the liquid within into his bloodstream.

"Oh, God, are you gonna steal my kidney and sell it? Could you please not do anything awful for five seconds?"

"What did she just do to him?" asked Rafael in a harsh voice, ignoring his father incessant babbling

"What did we just do _for_ him" Fury replied to Rafael before he looked Tony straight in the eye and answered the question "That's Lithium Dioxide. It's gonna take the edge off. We're trying to get you back to work."

"Give me a couple of boxes of that. I'll be right as rain" said Tony, wondering just how they'd managed to find a cure

"It's not a cure, it just abates the symptoms" said Fury dispelling Tony's thoughts "Doesn't look like it's gonna be an easy fix."

"Trust me" said Tony"I know. I'm good at this stuff. I've been looking for a suitable replacement for palladium. I've tried every combination, every permutation of every known element."

"Well, I'm here to tell you, you haven't tried them all. That thing in your chest is based on unfinished technology."

"No, it was has never been particularly effective until I miniaturized it and put it in my..."

"No. Howard said the arc reactor was the stepping stone to something was about to kick off an energy race that was gonna dwarf the arms race. He was on to something big, something so big that it was gonna make the nuclear reactor look like a triple-A battery."

"Just him" said Rafael"or was Anton Vanko in on this, too?

"Anton Vanko is the other side of that coin" Fury replied "Anton saw it as a way to get Howard found out,he had him the Russians found out that he couldn't deliver, they shipped his ass off to Siberia and he spent the next 20 years in a vodka-fuelled rage. Not quite the environment you want to raise a kid in, and that kid's the guy your son managed to declaw in Monaco."

"You told me I hadn't tried do you mean I haven't tried everything? What haven't I tried?"

"He said that you were the only person with the means and knowledge to finish what he started."

'He said that?" asked Tony in surprise, before adding "I don't know where you get your information,but he wasn't my biggest fan."

"What do you remember about your dad?" asked Fury

"He was cold, he was calculating" said Tony"He never told me he loved me. He never even told me he liked me, so it's a little tough for me to digest when you're telling me he said the whole future was riding on me and he's passing it down. I don't get that. You're talking about a guy whose happiest day was when he shipped me off to boarding school."

"That's not true."

"Well then," said Tony, who was clearly becoming agitated"Clearly you knew my dad better than I did."

"As a matter of fact, I did. He was one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D" said Fury "But that's a tale for another time"

Tony clearly wanted to protest but his son's hand on his shoulder and a slight shake of his head convinced Tony otherwise.

"Natasha will remain a floater at Stark with her cover intact, and Agent Coulson will remain at your house to ensure to supervise you and to provide you with the materials that you won't be able to procure for yourself" said Fury "And Tony, I got my eye on you."

The director of S.H.I.E.L.D turned around and showed himself the door.

"We've disabled all communications" said Mr. Coulson"After tonight there will be no contact with the outside world beyond Agent Romanov and my team… well not any unsupervised contact at any luck."

* * *

"Everything is achievable through technology. Better living, robust health and for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace. I'm Howard Stark, and everything you'll need for the future can be found right here. City of the Future?City of Tomorrow? City of... I'm Howard Stark, and everything you'll need in the future can be found right here. So, from all of us at Stark industries, I would like to personally..."

"Pause" said the voice of the Stark Patriarch as he looked at his son "How long did you know that your friend was working with S.H.I.E.L.D"

"Since the very beginning father" Rafael replied, seeing no need to lie… much "You were dying and admit it or not we needed help, and S.H.I.E.L.D could provide what we needed."

"And you didn't feel the need to…"

"You wouldn't have listened!" Rafael replied harshly, interrupting his father "You would have cursed me and the prevented me from interfering, you would have kept an eye out for an S.H.I.E.L.D agents, hacked their servers and you would have never trusted Natasha…!"

"Their Government Agents" said Tony agitated "They can't be trusted…"

"Hypocrite!" his son shouted "You yourself have said that you never trusted anyone affiliated with the government, for good reason mind you, yet you trust Rhodey with your life!"

"That's different…"

"NO! It's not…! Make no mistake father I trust S.H.I.E.L.D just about far as I trusted Stane, but there are good people in that organization, people that I would trust with my life" Rafael yelled "Phil Coulson, Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff are at the top of that list, they are good people, people I would trust unconditionally! The next person is Sharon Carter, a woman who I truly believe would do the right thing when push comes to shove, despite not knowing her too well… and as for Fury, I trust him to do what needs to be done. Case in point yourself!"

"Me?"

"That little injection that bought you more time as well as severely reduced the after effects of Palladium poisoning" Rafael replied "It also allowed me to gain access to these films, and I think that they may be the answer to our problem."

And with those words he forwarded the clip before hitting play and his Tony watched as his father's last message to him

"Tony?" said the voice of Howard Stark"You're too young to understand this right now, so I thought I would put it on film for you. I built this for you. And someday you'll realize that it represents a whole lot more than just people's inventions. It represents my life's work. This is the key to the future. I'm limited by the technology of my time, but one day you'll figure this out. And when you do, you will change the world. What is and always will be my greatest creation,is you."

Tony was silent for a moment as his son turned paused the clip before he said "Are you thinking what I am thinking?"

"That the model is some sort of message to you father" asked Rafael "Why yes, yes I am… problem is I have no idea where that model is located."

"I do, at least I think I do… it should be in my office in Stark Industries…, well what was my office but is now Pepper's office, regardless, what's say we go and collect it."

"Dad, it's past midnight" Rafael said "Let's call it a night and retrieve it tomorrow, so that we can look at it with fresh minds"

"… Alright, first thing tomorrow then!"

* * *

The next day started like quite normally for a day that would certainly be life changing, then again Rafael figured most day like that would usually start out quite normally. He got up from his bed and checked the status of a few of his side projects, before freshening up and putting on a pair of Black Nike shoes, jeans and a simple light blue t-shirt, before walking out of his room and straight into the end of what sounded like an amusing conversation.

"Look Coulson, that is your name right? I need a little bodywork beforeI put in a little time at the lab. And if you could send one of your goon squad down to The Coffee Bean, Cross Creek, for a Starbucks run, while we're out,or something like that, it'd that'd be nice.

"Mr. Stark" replied the agent, who sounded more amused than anything else "I'm not here for that and I've been authorized by Director Furyto use any means necessary to keep you on premises. If you attempt to leave or play any games, I will tase you and watch Supernanny while you drool into the carpet. You got it?"

"I think I got it, yeah" Tony replied, a little freaked out. Not because of what the agent said but how he said it. He spoke as if he couldn't care less if he had to follow that threat, and that he was entirely apathetic to the idea of going through with it. He spoke as if he was stating a simple fact, nothing more and nothing less and that was what really… slightly freaked the elder Stark.

"Dad…" asked Rafael slowly "What exactly were you trying to accomplish?"

"I was trying to convince Agent Coulson here to _allow_ us to leave the mansion" his father replied, the emphasis on the word allow made it clear to both men that Tony would certainly be leaving regardless of what Mr. Coulson said, "So that we could go and do what we need to do."

"And you decided to go about doing that by being an…" Rafael trailed off, shaking his head before he turned and looked straight at the agent before saying "Mr. Coulson, we think we might have a lead on uncovering the secrets that Howard Stark discovered but unfortunately there are several items that we need in order to discover and truly understand them. Items that are currently located in Stark industries."

"Make a list" replied the Agent "I'll have Agent Romanoff gather them and send them over with another agent"

"The items in question are well… a bit sensitive in nature" Rafael said "It would be better if we go and collect them ourselves."

"I trust that this is not some kind of trick on your part to earn some favor with your father Mr. Stark"

"Of course not Agent Coulson, I'm actually kind of offended that you thought I would try that."

"Very well, I'll send a message to Agent Romanoff so she knows to expect you two." Coulson replied, only keeping his face straight through years of experience. He could easily see from his expression that Rafael was struggling not to burst out laughing and Tony's annoyed expression clearly told him that he had figured out that the conversation between the S.H.I.E.L.D Agent and his son had the sole purpose of annoying him…. And it was quite apparent that they succeeded as the former head of Stark industries was clearly annoyed.

* * *

"Mr. Stark, Mr. Stark and Mr. Rodgers" said Natasha as she greeted them at the front of Stark Industries "I was informed that you were coming to collect some items, but the information was a little vague on what exactly you came to collect."

"And it is going to stay that way" replied Tony as he walked straight by her. Not one to be upstaged she gracefully fell into a step behind him, walking side by side with Rafael who couldn't helped be amused by the whole thing, and in front of Steve who brought up the rear "Has Pepper moved anything out of my old office?"

"She hasn't Mr. Stark" came the reply as they stopped in the hallway, waiting for an elevator to come down to take them up "She said that she would rather get everything up to par before she thinks of redecorating, it seems that there was a rather large backlog of paperwork she has to go through before she has time to implement any future plans for the company."

Rafael couldn't help but smirk as his father graciously let her have that one as all four of them stepped into the elevator. A second passed in silence, than two, and then the infamous Black Widow said "Look I know you have something to say so just say it, Rafael and I have ensured that these elevators are secure."

"How secure?" said Tony suspiciously, wondering what she meant by secure, and if would help the S.H.I.E.L.D get anymore lackeys inside his company

"As in hooked up to JARVIS secure" Rafael replied "Along with several other locations that needed high security to prevent espionage within the company."

"Well it seems a bit weak considering the fact that you have a genuine government spy as the CEO's personal assistant."

"Actually the designs he implemented were designed to company secrets from leaking out, as well as prevent any major crimes from occurring within the company such as what happened with Mr. Stane, or an employee snapping and killing a co-worker on the premises" said Natasha "I wasn't any of those things, contrary to what you were thinking Mr. Stark, after all I am just another one of your thousands of employees."

Rafael could barely hold in his snort

"I'm surprised you can keep your mouth shut" snarled Tony before his voice took on an amused tone as he said "Boy, you're good. You are mind-blowingly duplicitous. How do you do it? You just tear things... You're a triple impostor. I've never seen anything like you. Is there anything real about you? Do you even speak Latin?"

" _Of course I can you egotistical little prick_ " Natasha angrily replied in Latin " _Now is there anything you actually need my help with or have you called me here just to watch you be an irritating arse_."

At that Rafael couldn't help but snort. He really couldn't decide what was more amusing, the fact that his father was the only person capable of causing the infamous Black Widow to lose her legendary composure, the fact that Natasha insulted his father in a manner that that was frankly indecipherable as the insults were in derived form of Latin slang that didn't technically exist. Or the general absurdity of the fact that he was in an elevator with a genuine War-Hero, a famous self-proclaimed Hero, an infamous Assassin and was watching the latter two trade veiled barbs, and actual insults that the other was unable to understand.

"Which means? Wait. What? What did you just say?"

"She was asking if there was actually anything you needed her to do, as Pepper has got her working almost overtime, trying to finish all work that you let accumulate"

"Well actually…"

"I'm going to take that as a no."

"Oh and on another subject I got you a box of strawberries" said Rafael as he handed his former mentor a parcel that he was carrying "Dad was actually going to buy them for Pepper before I reminded him that she was allergic to them. So I bought them instead as I remembered that you use to love them and got him to buy her a box of chocolates instead."

"Aw, that so sweet" she said as she took the offered parcel "Still not going to get you anywhere though!"

"Why would I want to go anywhere, I mean here I could have anything I want" replied Rafael, before throwing her a smirk and adding "Well almost anything"

"You know I thought that you would have gotten the memo by now my friend"

"Except you've never given the memo Natasha" he replied "You've never told me no, or even implied such… you've just given reasons why it won't work. Just say the words and I'll stop Nat. Just say it"

"I… is there anything you'd like to add Cap?"

"If a woman says no she means no, if someone doesn't accept that well… then he, or she and I have a problem" replied Steve "That being said however you've never actually said no now have you?"

"Ok guys" interjected Tony "Look, despite being your father here Rafael, I know I really have no right to comment"

"True" said Rafael

"That would" added Natasha

"after all"

"make you"

"A hypocrite"

"of the"

"highest order"

"Mr. Stark"

Rafael could help but smirk has he felt a spark of amusement flare in his chest as he watched his father give both Natasha and him a really odd look. He knew that for some inexpiable reason his father had a strange fascination with the way the Weasley Twins from Harry Potter, completed each other's sentences. And to see both his newly found son, as well as a trained spy, sent to spy on HIM, were quite capable of doing that with each other…

Well Tony wasn't the only Stark with the gift to utterly baffle and completely annoy people, and the elder Stark found that he really, Really didn't like being on this side of the coin toss.

"But we're here."

And almost if he planned it, which considering Tony's brilliant mind was entirely possible, the doors opened and all four of them stepped out with and made their way to Peppers office.

"Natalie, Steve" said Rafael when he entered the office and saw the model. Out of the corner of his eyes he also saw his dad speaking to Pepper but he had no desire to hear their conversation "I need you to carefully transport this model down to my dad's car. Please do be very careful with that, a single misplaced piece could possibly result in disastrous consequences. Do you understand?"

"I do."

"Good" Rafael said "Also Natalie, first off have they arrived in town?"

"They have sir, their actually staying in a hotel a few blocks away. Would you like me to arrange a meeting?"

"Please do, also allow them their choice of location."

"Understood sir."

* * *

"Jarvis, could you kindly Vac-U-Form a digital wire frame? I need a manipulatable projection. Also how many buildings are there?

The model scan complete, sir. And am I to include the Belgian waffle stands?"

"That was rhetorical. Just show me" said Tony before he flipped it to a full 90O "What does that look like to you?"

"Not unlike an atom" answered Rafael as he inspected the image "In which case the nucleus would be… Highlight the unisphere Please"

It still didn't look like much too him. The unisphere looked like an ordinary mesh made sphere. He was good at this stuff, he was very good at this stuff, and yet he could make neither heads nor tails of what his grandfather had envisioned when he created this model.

"Lose the footpaths" said tony suddenly as he started to fiddle with the projection "Get rid of them"

"Dad?" the uncertainty was clear in his voice

"What is it you're trying to achieve, sir?" turns out he was not the only confused as the AI's mechanical voice questioned the actions of his creator

"I'm discovering..." muttered Tony, completely engrossed trying to recreate something that he alone could see "Correction. I'm rediscovering a new element, I believe. Lose the landscaping, the shrubbery, the trees. Parking lots, exits, entrances…. Good, now structure the protons and the neutrons using the pavilions as a framework.

"Dad" the same word was repeated again, though the uncertainty that was prevalent the first time he spoke was now replaced with wonder.

"Yeah my dad" said Tony in an equally awestruck voice as he turned to face his own son "Dead for almost twenty years, and yet he's still taking me to school."

"The proposed element should serve as a viable replacement for palladium" said JARVIS "Unfortunately, it is impossible to synthesise."

Tony smirked "Get ready for a major remodel, fellas. We're back in hardware mode!"

* * *

 **Hey there people, I hope that each and every one of you enjoyed this chapter of White Knight...**

 **Thank you so much RoyalTwinFangs and Aiphira, I hope you feel that this chapter has been just as good as the others so far...**

 **HPMarvel- Do you think that they just shoehorned that romance into it at the last moment so that they could have some way to calm down and/or control the Hulk, cause that what it feels like to me... But who knows, maybe they have a much better plan in mind that involves said couple... We'll just have to wait and watch and regardless of what happens I believe that the coming films will be something to behold . . .**

 **DarkDust27- Well, there have been several friendships and deals over the last few years... other than the Mandarin, he hasn't affected major events in the past THAT much... its what will happen that due to the friendships and deals that the question... my suggestion is simply wait an watch... oh, and if you have a suggestion or a particular change in mind, PM me, I wouldn't be averse to discussing ideas...**

 **That's an open invitation to everyone actually, if you have any suggestions about how you want this story to flow, or what twists you want it to take, please don't hesitate to give me a PM, or mention it in a review...  
That being said, I'm not promising anything... just saying that I'll be taking it under serious consideration...**

 **Rafaelout . . .  
**


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